The steady motions of a satellite with a two-degree-of-freedom powered gyroscope in a central gravitational field and their stability

The positions of relative equilibrium of a satellite carrying a two-degree-of-freedom powered gyroscope, in the axes of the framework of which only dissipative forces can act, are investigated within the limits of a restricted circular problem. For the case when the “satellite - gyroscope” system possesses the property of a gyrostat and the axis of the gyroscope frame is directed parallel to one of the principal central axes of inertia of the satellite, all the equilibrium positions are found as a function of the magnitude of the angular momentum of the rotor. It is established that the minimum number of equilibrium positions is equal to 32 and, in certain ranges of values of the system parameters, it can reach 80. All the positions satisfying the sufficient conditions for stability are also determined. The number of them is either equal to 4 or 8 depending on the values of the system parameters.     

The steady motions of a gyrostat suspended on a rod in a central gravitational field

The problem of the existence, stability and bifurcation of the steady motions of two bodies in an orbital tethered system, when one of the bodies is a symmetrical satellite with a rotor on the axis of symmetry, is considered. One-parameter families of steady motions are indicated, and their stability and bifurcations are investigated. The conditions which relate the parameters of the system for which stabilization of the families obtained is possible using a rotating rotor are obtained.     

The stability of the plane periodic motions of a symmetrical rigid body with a fixed point

A rigorous non-linear analysis of the orbital stability of plane periodic motions (pendulum oscillations and rotations) of a dynamically symmetrical heavy rigid body with one fixed point is carried out. It is assumed that the principal moments of inertia of the rigid body, calculated for the fixed point, are related by the same equation as in the Kovalevskaya case, but here no limitations are imposed on the position of the mass centre of the body. In the case of oscillations of small amplitude and in the case of rotations with high angular velocities, when it is possible to introduce a small parameter, the orbital stability is investigated analytically. For arbitrary values of the parameters, the non-linear problem of orbital stability is reduced to an analysis of the stability of a fixed point of the simplectic mapping, generated by the system of equations of perturbed motion. The simplectic mapping coefficients are calculated numerically, and from their values, using well-known criteria, conclusions are drawn regarding the orbital stability or instability of the periodic motion. It is shown that, when the mass centre lies on the axis of dynamic symmetry (the case of Lagrange integrability), the well-known stability criteria are inapplicable. In this case, the orbital instability of the periodic motions is proved using Chetayev's theorem. The results of the analysis are presented in the form of stability diagrams in the parameter plane of the problem.     

The steady motions of gyrostats with equal moments of inertia in a central force field

The problem of the motion of a gyroscope in a central force field is considered. It is assumed that the principal central moments of inertia of the gyrostat are equal to one another, while the centre of mass moves in a circular orbit in a plane passing through the attracting centre. The steady motions of the gyrostat and their stability are investigated. The case when the mass distribution allows of the symmetry group of a tetrahedron is considered as an example.     

On the orbital stability of pendulum-like motions of a rigid body in the Bobylev-Steklov case

We deal with the problem of orbital stability of pendulum-like periodic motions of a heavy rigid body with a fixed point. We suppose that the geometry of the mass of the body corresponds to the Bobylev-Steklov case. Unperturbed motion represents oscillations or rotations of the body around a principal axis, occupying a fixed horizontal position. The problem of the orbital stability is considered on the basis of a nonlinear analysis.     

Planar motion and stability for a rigid body with a beam in a field of central gravitational force

Planar motion for a rigid body with an elastic beam in a field of central gravitational force was investigated, and both of the orbital motion and attitude motion were under consideration. The equations of motion of the system were derived by the variational principle, and on view point of generalized Hamiltonian dynamics, the sufficient conditions for the stability of one class of relative equilibria were given by the energymomentum method.     

On the orbital stability of planar periodic motions of a rigid body in the Bobylev-Steklov case

We deal with the problem of orbital stability of pendulum-like periodic motions of a heavy rigid body with a fixed point. We suppose that a mass geometry corresponds to the Bobylev-Steklov case. The stability problem is solved in nonlinear setting. In the case of small amplitude oscillations and rotations with large angular velocities the small parameter can be introduced and the problem can be investigated analytically. In the case of unspecified oscillation amplitude or rotational angular velocity the problem is reduced to analysis of stability of a fixed point of the symplectic map generated by the equations of the perturbed motion. The coefficients of the symplectic map are determined numerically. Rigorous results on the orbital stability or instability of unperturbed motion are obtained by analyzing these coefficients.     

On stability of certain key types of rigid body motion in a nonconservative field

In this activity the qualitative analysis of spatial problems of the real rigid body motions in a resistant medium is fulfilled. A nonlinear model that describes the interaction of a rigid body with a medium and takes into account (based on experimental data on the motion of circular cylinders in water) the dependence of the arm of the force on the normalized angular velocity of the body and the dependence of the moment of the force on the angle of attack is constructed. An analysis of plane and spatial models (in the presence or absence of an additional tracking force) leads to sufficient stability conditions for translational motion, as one of the key types of motions. Either stable or unstable self-oscillation can be observed under certain conditions. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The properties of the steady motions of a body carrying a system of two-degree-of-freedom powered gyroscopes

The steady motions of a rigid body carrying several two-degree-of-freedom powered gyroscopes in a uniform external field are investigated. It is shown that when the installation scheme of the gyroscopes in the carrying body is collinear, the problem of determining the steady motions of the system and analysing their secular stability reduces for the most part to the previously solved, similar problem for a system with one gyroscope. It is established that when there is dissipation in the axes of the gyroscope frames, the system tends asymptotically to a state of rest if the absolute value of the total angular momentum of the system lies in the segment of possible absolute values of the angular momentum of the gyroscope rotors. The results of an analysis of the steady motions of a system carrying two gyroscopes with a non-collinear installation scheme are presented.     

On the stability of steady motions of systems with cyclic coordinates

A method of solving stabilization problems by isolating a controlled subsystem of possibly smaller dimension [1, 2] is developed further. The stabilizing action is determined by the solution of an optimal stabilization problem [3] for a linear controlled subsystem. The control that is found is implemented in the form of a feedback loop that uses an estimate [4] of the state vector (or part of it) constructed by measuring the perturbations of the positional coordinates. The stability of the unperturbed motion in a complete closed system is established by reducing the problem to a special case of the theory of critical cases [5, 6] or to the problem of stability under constantly acting perturbations [6].     

The steady motions of a three-body system in weightlessness conditions

The stability of the steady motions by inertia of a combination of three point masses, forming an open chain, is investigated using the Routh–Lyapunov theorem. The problem is investigated in two different formulations: in the first formulation the mean mass is fixed with respect to a thread, and in the second it can move along that thread without friction, while constant tension of the thread is ensured by additional devices, consuming external energy. In steady motions, the configurations of the arrangement of the masses in both systems are similar, but the stability conditions are found to be different.     

The asymptotic properties of the motions of satellites in a central field due to internal dissipation

A satellite in the form of a system of bodies that does not have the property of a gyrostat in the general case is considered. An algorithm for determining all the equilibrium configurations of the system that correspond to steady motions in a central gravitational field and an algorithm for analysing their stability are given. A method based on Routh's first theorem is used to investigate the asymptotic stability of the steady motions in the unconstrained problem. Three effects caused by internal dissipation are established in a model example: stabilization of the satellites in a neighbourhood of rotations about a normal to the orbital plane, which is codirectional with the axis of the largest moment of inertia, evolution of elliptic orbits into circular orbits, and capture of the satellites in resonant oscillatory modes of motion.     

On bifurcation and stability of steady motions of two gravitating bodies

The plane motion of a system of two mutually gravitating bodies, one a sphere with a spherical mass distribution and the other a homogeneous rod, is considered. All steady motions of the system are found, and the conditions for their stability are obtained in both the secular sense and in the first-order approximation. The possibility of gyroscopic stabilization of steady motions with instability of degree two is noted. The results of the investigation are presented in the form of a bifurcation diagram.     

Optimal rigid body motions,part 1: Approximate formulation

Optimal rigid body angular motions are investigated in the absence of direct control over one of the angular velocity components, via an approximate dynamic model. An analysis of first-order necessary conditions for optimality with the proposed model reveals that, over a large range of boundary conditions, there are, in general, several distinct extremal solutions. A classification in terms of subfamilies of extremal solutions is presented. Second-order necessary conditions are investigated to establish local optimality for the candidate minimizers.This work was supported in part by DARPA Contract No. ACMP-F49620-87-C-0116 and by Air Force Grant AFOSR-89-0001.     

The dynamics of a rigid body colliding with a rigid surface

Basic investigation techniques, algorithms, and results are presented for nonlinear oscillations and stability of steady rotations and periodic motions of a rigid body, colliding with a rigid surface, in a uniform gravity field.