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Real-time monitoring of metal wear debris in lubricating oil is crucial for accurately assessing aerospace equipment health and preventing catastrophic mechanical failures. Although three-coil differential inductive sensors are widely used due to their high sensitivity and robust structure, their detection performance inevitably degrades under the influence of multi-physics coupling effects inherent in complex industrial environments. Existing analytical models were primarily limited to single electromagnetic field simulations, failing to capture the intricate electromagnetic-thermal-mechanical interactions, which reduced analytical accuracy and hindered the optimization of sensor designs for extreme conditions. To overcome these challenges, this study established a comprehensive parametric simulation model to conduct a rigorous electromagnetic-thermal-mechanical coupled analysis of the differential sensor. Specifically, the research analyzed the underlying mechanisms by which wide temperature variations from -55 °C to 200 °C and specific debris kinematics exert varying degrees of influence on the induced voltage. Quantitative results indicated that both the isolated thermal and mechanical fields altered the voltage by a maximum of 0.649%, demonstrating that the sensor maintains a relatively stable response across extreme thermal gradients. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that increased debris velocity decreased the induced voltage amplitude due to the intensified motion-induced eddy current effects. Notably, in complex multiple debris scenarios, the strong dominant signals generated by ferromagnetic wear debris severely masked the weaker responses from non-ferromagnetic ones, indicating a substantial missed detection risk under mixed contamination conditions. Ultimately, this research successfully filled the critical simulation gap for evaluating these sensors under multi-physics coupling, providing robust theoretical guidance for their reliable deployment in complex industrial applications.
To satisfy the real-time beam tracking requirement of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite ground terminals under highly dynamic pass conditions, this paper proposes a three-state hierarchical state-machine beam-control algorithm for liquid crystal phased array antennas (LCPAs). The tracking process is divided into three stages. S1 coarse nine-point acquisition is used to rapidly cover a wide pointing-uncertainty region. S2 fine nine-point refinement introduces quadratic-surface fitting to obtain local peak estimation at sub-step resolution. S3 predictive tracking adopts an interacting multiple model Kalman filter (IMM-KF) based on the constant-acceleration (CA) model and the Singer model, and designs an adaptive covariance regulation mechanism for both measurement and process noise. Combined with explicit delay compensation for liquid-crystal response time, the method suppresses pointing lag and error accumulation in high-dynamic intervals. A dual-threshold hysteretic loss-of-lock criterion and a filter-reset mechanism are also integrated to guarantee autonomous link recovery. Simulation results show that, in an LEO pass scenario with a maximum angular rate of about 2 °/s, the proposed method reduces the median 2D RMSE by about 52%, reduces the 90% quantile error by about 54%, and lowers the median average power loss from 0.14 dB to 0.03 dB compared with the traditional scheme.
The demand for high-precision, real-time, and continuous localization in aerospace and low-altitude unmanned systems is steadily increasing. However, under weak GNSS availability, obstruction, and degraded ranging geometry, conventional 3D localization methods often suffer from insufficient observation constraints and severe accuracy degradation. To address observability degradation and localization error divergence in single-auxiliary-node systems, this paper proposes a 3D cooperative localization method based on maneuver reconfiguration of a single auxiliary node. Within a particle filtering framework, the method fuses target motion increments with single-shot range measurements to recursively estimate the target’s 3D position and heading. A geometric degradation metric and a radial-consistency metric are further constructed from the line-of-sight distribution and the alignment between target velocity and line of sight within a sliding window, enabling online detection of degraded observability. Once degradation is detected, the auxiliary node performs either lateral maneuvering or circular maneuvering to actively reshape the target–auxiliary relative geometry and restore observation diversity; meanwhile, the two metrics can also serve as feedback variables for adaptive maneuver adjustment. Comparative analyses are conducted under three modes, namely no reconfiguration, lateral maneuvering, and circular maneuvering, from the perspectives of 3D trajectory evolution, error time series, degradation-metric time series, and statistical error performance. Parameter sensitivity analyses and an additional nonlinear velocity-varying scenario are also included. Experimental results show that the no-reconfiguration mode exhibits clear error divergence under degraded conditions, whereas both maneuver-based strategies effectively reduce localization errors. Lateral maneuvering is more suitable for rapid recovery in the early degradation stage, while circular maneuvering achieves better overall accuracy and stronger post-degradation recovery capability. These results demonstrate the effectiveness and engineering feasibility of degradation-triggered active geometric reconfiguration for cooperative localization in low-configuration unmanned systems.
Aiming at the constraint issues of adjacent spacecraft solar panel collision avoidance and formation keeping in the pose tracking control of spacecraft formation, this paper proposes a distributed relative position and attitude cooperative control strategy on the basis of high-order control barrier functions. First, nominal control strategies for relative position and attitude tracking using the sliding mode control method to achieve high-precision tracking of relative motion are de-signed. Then, high-order control barrier functions suitable for solar panel collision avoidance and spacecraft formation keeping constraints are constructed. The control strategy constraints satisfying safety specifications are derived based on the forward invariant set theory. Finally, a quadratic programming optimization framework is established by combining the nominal control strategies and constraint conditions and then we obtain the optimal control strategy by solving this framework. Numerical simulations verify that the designed control scheme achieves precise tracking of relative position and attitude for spacecraft formation, avoids collisions between solar panels of adjacent spacecraft and prevents excessive loosening of the formation configuration.
Modern space exploration relies more and more on vehicles that carry expansive antenna arrays, a trend driven by steady progress in the field of space engineering. The study centers on constructing a coupled model that accounts for structural rigidity, flexibility, and thermal effects in a sizable orbital unfurling parabolic antenna, along with designing its orientation regulation system. A blended coordinate formulation and a heat-based discretization approach are employed to derive the motion and temperature-governing equations of the assembly. A unified pointing control method is then developed by merging classical feedback control principles with torque compensation control. Computational experiments involving a spacecraft fitted with such a dish antenna are executed. The findings reveal that sudden heat fluctuations, exemplified by the transition out of Earth’s umbra, trigger oscillatory behavior in the antenna framework and disrupt the satellite’s angular position. The designed orientation regulator successfully counteracts these thermally driven perturbations, even when the system representation contains inaccuracies.
In recent years, the global demand for high-rate, high-reliability, and wide-coverage wireless communications has continued to grow. Traditional satellite communications are faced with bottlenecks such as spectrum scarcity, insufficient single-satellite capacity, and poor adaptability to highly dynamic channels. Relying on the advantages of wide-area coverage and multi-satellite cooperation, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations can construct distributed satellite MIMO systems and form virtual large-scale antenna arrays, significantly improving system capacity and reliability. However, such systems are characterized by large spatiotemporal scales, and their channels exhibit strong heterogeneity in dimensions such as delay, frequency, and polarization, which are difficult to accurately evaluate using existing methods. To this end, this paper proposes a large-spatiotemporal-scale channel characteristic analysis method for distributed LEO satellite MIMO systems. A satellite-terrestrial full-link channel model is established, and quantitative characterization of multi-dimensional heterogeneity is realized based on statistical boundary analysis. Combined with the H3 global grid system, large-scale simulations are carried out to statistically analyze the distribution laws of delay differences, frequency offsets, and polarization angle deviations under different user configurations. The unique value of this analysis method lies in that its output results can be used to determine the upper limit of buffer capacity required for the receiver to complete coherent combining of multi-channel signals and the frequency offset correction range required for signal acquisition, provide a quantitative basis for optimizing satellite set selection, and offer a solid theoretical model and data support for performance evaluation and parameter design of multi-satellite cooperative systems.
In addressing the challenges of deep purification of cadmium (Cd) heavy metal contamination and membrane fouling control in spacecraft drinking water sources and recirculation systems, this study adopts a coagulation-ultrafiltration coupled process, with polyaluminium chloride (PACl) as the coagulant and sodium polyacrylate (PAANa) as the complexing agent. A systematic investigation was carried out to examine the effects of key operating parameters—including coagulant dosage, complexing agent dosage, and humic acid (HA) concentration—on Cd removal efficiency, floc morphological characteristics, and ultrafiltration membrane resistance distribution. The results indicate that for simulated raw water containing 0.05 mg/L Cd and (50 ± 0.5) NTU turbidity, under the optimized conditions of 20 mg/L PACl, 20 mg/L PAANa, and pH = 7, the Cd concentration in the effluent treated by the coagulation-ultrafiltration coupled process is reduced to as low as 0.004 mg/L, which meets and even exceeds the hygiene standard limits for both spacecraft drinking water and domestic drinking water. HA was found to promote floc growth and enhance the complexation-based removal of Cd, yet it exacerbates membrane surface adsorption and gel layer fouling. Membrane resistance analysis reveals that gel layer resistance and concentration polarization resistance are the primary sources of fouling, and membrane fouling can be effectively mitigated through rational regulation of operating parameters. This coagulation-ultrafiltration coupled process is characterized by high purification efficiency, stable effluent quality, and strong modularity. It is well adapted to the requirements for closed-loop circulation of spacecraft water resources and drinking water safety assurance, and can provide technical support for water circulation systems in manned spacecraft, drinking water purification at launch sites, and in-situ water treatment during deep space exploration.
To improve the accuracy and safety margin deficiencies of unmanned aerial vehicles in autonomous medical emergency search-and-rescue missions, this paper develops an adaptive embedded fusion optimizer named CTCM-ALA for rescue UAV path planning. The proposed algorithm hybridizes the tribe-competition member-cooperation strategy and artificial lemming algorithm to construct hierarchically adaptive initial populations, speed up convergence and prevent local convergence traps. Tests on 12 CEC2017 functions prove its better optimization performance. Real-world applications in dense urban and complicated topographic medical rescue cases verify its reliability and precision.
A switched adaptive flight control architecture is proposed for fixed-wing carrier-sub UAVs to handle abrupt mass and inertia variations, as well as parameter uncertainties induced by transient aerodynamic interference, during sequential deployment. The separation process is rigorously modeled as a switched linear system, and a combined direct and indirect adaptive control scheme featuring an online Recursive Least Squares (RLS) modification is designed to compensate for model uncertainties. Furthermore, a dwell-time admissible switching law is established by solving Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs), ensuring the stability of the switching process through theoretically guaranteed Lyapunov energy drops at switching instants. Numerical simulations verify that transient tracking error spikes are significantly suppressed, and high-frequency oscillations are effectively attenuated compared to baseline controllers.
In response of the stringent requirements of high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites for attitude control stability and micro-vibration environment, this study focuses on the friction dynamics modeling and simulation analysis of large-angular-momentum flywheels across a wide speed range. To quantify the impact of flywheel friction disturbances on satellite attitude pointing accuracy, friction torque characteristic data were first acquired through ground testing over the full speed range, and a high-fidelity static fitting mathematical model was constructed using the least squares method. To further elucidate the nonlinear friction mechanisms in the low-speed regime—particularly during speed zero-crossings—the LuGre dynamic friction model was introduced, and its core parameters were identified and optimized. Comparative results demonstrate that the model exhibits high-precision characterization capabilities, with a deviation of less than 0.0015 Nm from measured data within the critical low-speed range of ±50 rpm. Subsequently, the established friction model was integrated into a satellite attitude control closed-loop system for digital simulation to quantitatively evaluate the disturbance of friction torque on system steady-state accuracy. The results indicate that under the closed-loop control compensation mechanism, the impact of flywheel friction on satellite attitude pointing accuracy is effectively suppressed, with the attitude angle deviation maintained within 0.002°, thereby meeting the engineering requirements for high-precision remote sensing imaging. This research provides a theoretical basis and data support for the optimization design of flywheel systems and the refined design of satellite attitude controllers.
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