Control and stabilization of a flexible beam attached to a rigid body

Abstract

We consider a flexible spacecraft modelled as a rigid body rotating in inertial space; a light flexible beam is clamped to the rigid body at one end and is free at the other. The equations of motion are obtained by using free-body diagrams. It is shown that suitable boundary controls applied to the free end of the beam and a control torque applied to the rigid body stabilize the system. The proof is obtained by using the energy of the system as a Lyapunov functional. © 1990 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.