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O'Connor, William
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O'Connor, William
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O'Connor, William
Research Output
Now showing 1 - 10 of 21
- PublicationDevelopment of the Ground Segment Communication System for the EIRSAT-1 CubeSat(2021-05-05)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The Educational Irish Research Satellite (EIRSAT-1) is a student-led project to design, build and test Ireland’s first satellite. As part of the development, a ground segment (GS) has also been designed alongside the spacecraft. The ground segment will support two-way communications with the spacecraft throughout the mission. Communication with the satellite will occur in the very high frequency (VHF) and the ultra high frequency (UHF) bands for the uplink and downlink respectively. Different modulation schemes have been implemented for both uplink and downlink as part of the GS system. Uplink incorporates an Audio Frequency Shift-Keying (AFSK) scheme, while downlink incorporates a Gaussian Minimum Shift-Keying (GMSK) scheme. In order for the spacecraft to successfully receive a telecommand (TC) transmitted from the ground station, a framing protocol is required. AX.25 was selected as the data link layer protocol. A hardware terminal node controller (TNC) executes both the AX.25 framing and the AFSK modulation. Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) framing software was developed to allow data to be accepted by the TNC. A software defined radio (SDR) approach has been chosen for the downlink. GNURadio is software that allows flowcharts to be built to undertake the required signal processing of the received signal, the demodulation of the signal and the decoding of data. This paper provides a detailed account of the software developed for the ground segment communication system. A review of the AX.25 and KISS framing protocols is presented. The GNURadio flowcharts that handle the signal processing and data decoding are broken down and each constituent is explained. To ensure the reliability and robustness of the system, a suite of tests was undertaken, the results of which are also presented.295 - PublicationExperimental modal analysis of violin and similar thin plates by added point massesNovel methods are proposed to measure the modal properties of thin plates, such as free violin plates (prior to assembly), simply and inexpensively, by measuring certain changes when a small mass is added to the resonating plate. Iso-amplitude contours and mode shapes can easily be plotted. Modal mass, stiffness and damping can also be inferred. Underlying theory is developed, and experimental and numerical modelling methods of validation are briefly outlined.
687 - PublicationMultibody domain decomposition for parallel processing: a wave-based approach to handling interface dynamics(2012-05)
; For many good reasons there is growing interest in ways to allow parallel processing of multibody dynamics problems. Some recent approaches include “Domain Decomposition” and “Divide and Conquer”. This paper explores a new approach, reported as work in progress, with initial, promising results. The strategy is an extension of work done on wave analysis of lumped systems in another context. In the approach, a larger system is subdivided into smaller subsystems, which are solved in parallel. Interconnection points are boundaries for each. Dynamic coupling across boundaries is handled in terms of transmitted and reflected motion components (or "waves"), in both directions, across the boundaries.171 - PublicationAn alternative TLM method for steady-state convection-diffusionRecent papers have introduced a novel and efficient scheme, based on the transmission line modelling (TLM) method, for solving one-dimensional steady-state convection–diffusion problems. This paper introduces an alternative method. It presents results obtained using both techniques, which suggest that the new scheme outlined in this paper is the more accurate and efficient of the two. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
290 - PublicationTravelling waves in boundary-controlled, non-uniform, cascaded lumped systemsA companion paper in this conference considers travelling and standing waves in cascaded, lumped, mass-spring systems, controlled by two boundary actuators, one at each end, when the system is uniform. It first proposes definitions of waves in finite lumped systems. It then shows how to control the actuators to establish desired waves from rest, and maintain them despite disturbances. The present paper extends this work to the more general, non-uniform case, when mass and spring values are arbitrary. A special "bi-uniform" case is first studied, consisting of two different uniform cascaded systems in series, with an obvious, uncontrolled, impedance mismatch where they meet. The paper shows how boundary actuator control systems can be designed to establish, and robustly maintain, apparently pure travelling waves of constant amplitude in either the first or the second uniform section, in each case with an appropriate standing wave pattern in the other section. Then a more general non-uniform case is studied. A definition of a "pure travelling wave" in non-uniform systems is proposed. Curiously, it does not imply constant amplitude motion. It does however yield maximum power transfer between boundary actuators. The definition, and its implementation in a control system, involves extending the notions of "pure" travelling waves, standing waves, and input and output impedances of sources and loads, when applied to non-uniform lumped systems. Practical, robust control strategies are presented for all cases.
357Scopus© Citations 4 - PublicationWave-like modelling of cascaded, lumped, flexible systems with an arbitrarily moving boundaryThis paper considers cascaded, lumped, flexible systems, which may be short and non-uniform, which are driven by an arbitrarily moving boundary. Such systems exhibit vaguely wavelike behaviour yet defy classical wave analysis. The paper proposes novel ways to analyse and model such systems in terms of waves. It presents two new wave models for non-uniform systems, one series and one shunt, defining their component wave transfer functions, and thereby providing a way to define, identify and measure component waves. Features of the models are compared. The series and shunt configurations are mutually consistent and can be combined into a single composite wave model. The models are exact, but elements within them remain arbitrary to some degree, implying slight differences in the wave decomposition of the system. Some good model choices are proposed and explored. Wave speed and wave impedance are briefly considered, as are ways to measure component waves. Implications are discussed.
1917Scopus© Citations 14 - PublicationWave-based control of under-actuated flexible structures with strong external disturbing forcesWave-based control of under-actuated, flexible systems has many advantages over other methods. It considers actuator motion as launching a mechanical wave into the flexible system which it absorbs on its return to the actuator. The launching and absorbing proceed simultaneously. This simple, intuitive idea leads to robust, generic, highly efficient, precise, adaptable controllers, allowing rapid and almost vibrationless re-positioning of the system, using only sensors collocated at the actuator-system interface. It has been very successfully applied to simple systems such as mass-spring strings, systems of Euler-Bernoulli beams, planar mass-spring arrays, and flexible three-dimensional space structures undergoing slewing motion. In common with most other approaches, this work also assumed that, during a change of position, the forces from the environment were negligible in comparison with internal forces and torques. This assumption is not always valid. Strong external forces considerably complicate the flexible control problem, especially when unknown, unexpected or unmodelled. The current work extends the wave-based strategy to systems experiencing significant external disturbing forces, whether enduring or transient. The work also provides further robustness to sensor errors. The strategy has the controller learn about the disturbances and compensate for them, yet without needing new sensors, measurements or models beyond those of standard wave-based control.
303Scopus© Citations 7 - PublicationWave-based control of under-actuated flexible structures with strong external disturbing forcesWave-based control (WBC) of underactuated, flexible systems considers actuator motion as launching a mechanical wave into the flexible system which it then absorbs on its return to the actuator. The launching and absorbing proceed simultaneously. This simple, intuitive idea leads to robust, generic, highly efficient, precise, adaptable controllers, allowing rapid and almost vibrationless re-positioning of the system, using only sensors colocated at the actuator-system interface. These wave-based ideas have already been shown to work on simple systems such as mass-spring strings, systems of Euler-Bernoulli beams, and flexible space structures undergoing slewing motion (rotation with lateral translation). The current work extends this strategy to systems experiencing external disturbing forces, whether body forces which endure over time, such as gravitational effects which change with system orientation, or transient forces such as from impacts or external viscous damping. The revised strategy additionally provides robustness to some sensor errors. The strategy has the controller learn about the disturbances and compensate for them, yet without needing new sensors or measurements beyond those of standard WBC.
279 - PublicationEIRSAT-1 - The Educational Irish Research Satellite(ESA, 2018-08-01)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The Educational Irish Research Satellite, "EIRSAT-1", is a collaborative space project that aims to build, launch and operate the first ever Irish satellite. The EIRSAT-1 spacecraft is a 2U CubeSat incorporating three novel experiment payloads: GMOD, a gamma-ray detector; EMOD, a thermal management coating demonstration; and WBC, an attitude control algorithm. The spacecraft is currently under construction at University College Dublin and will be delivered to ESA in late 2019.430 - PublicationTravelling waves in boundary-controlled, non-uniform, cascaded lumped systemsA companion paper considers travelling and standing waves in cascaded, lumped, mass-spring systems, controlled by two boundary actuators, one at each end, when the system is uniform. It first proposes definitions of waves in finite lumped systems. It then shows how to control the actuators to establish desired waves from rest, and to maintain them despite disturbances. The present paper extends this work to the more general, non-uniform case, when mass and spring values can be arbitrary. A special ¿bi-uniform¿ case is first studied, consisting of two different uniform cascaded systems in series, with an obvious, uncontrolled, impedance mismatch where they meet. The paper shows how boundary actuator control systems can be designed to establish, and robustly maintain, apparently pure travelling waves of constant amplitude in either the first or the second uniform section, in each case with an appropriate, partial, standing wave pattern in the other section. Then a more general non-uniform case is studied. A definition of a ¿pure travelling wave¿ in non-uniform systems is proposed. Curiously, it does not imply constant amplitude motion. It does however yield maximum power transfer between boundary actuators. The definition, and its implementation in a control system, involves extending the notions of ¿pure¿ travelling waves, of standing waves, and of input and output impedances of sources and loads, when applied to non-uniform lumped systems. Practical, robust control strategies are presented for all cases.
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