An Experimental Study of Passive Damping and Active Control of Large Space Structures,

This report presents a methodology for incorporating passive dampers in large space systems LSS design. The methodology focuses on modular, discrete viscoelastic dampers which are integrally designed into the structure. The report describes the application of the methodology to the TRW LSS Experiment, a laboratory demonstration of a structure supporting a simulated optical mirror and subject to active and passive vibration control. Performance evaluation of the damped structured design was obtained using the Modal Strain Energy technique, based on finite element models in Program NASTRAN. A parameter variation study of the dampers performance was conducted, yielding, for the first three modes of a nominal damper configuration, an augmented modal damping ratio of 9 percent of critical damping. This amount of passive damping, which is an order of magnitude larger than the residual damping present in the original structure, was obtained with a mere 8 percent penalty in structural weight. Author