A new minimum-time control law for a one-mode model of a flexible slewing structure

The construction of a minimum-time control law for a single-axis, undamped, one-mode model of a flexible slewing structure is described. The set of necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality is developed using phase-plane techniques, and is given in terms of the vibration frequencies and the rigid-body states. This effectively provides the switching hypersurface in four-dimensional space. The resulting control strategy can be implemented on line since no a priori computation of switching times is required.<
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