Modeling and adaptive actuator failure compensation for a rocket fairing vibration control system

This paper deals with the actuator failure compensation problem for a Boeing rocket fairing vibration control testbed system. A baseline vibration reduction controller is studied and the deleterious impact of unknown actuator failures on system performance is evaluated. An adaptive compensation scheme is proposed for modifying the baseline controller design to accommodate some typical actuator failures whose values, pattern and time instants are uncertain, using a stable adaptive law for parameter adaptation in the presence of parameter uncertainties. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of adaptive actuator failure compensation scheme, verifying that the adaptive design is able to ensure the closed-loop signal boundedness and asymptotic output tracking in the presence of actuator failures.