Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Closed-loop control of sloshing fuel in a spinning spacecraft

Umberto Zucchelli, Miguel Alfonso Mendez, Annafederica Urbano, Sebastien Vincent-Bonnieu, Piotr Wenderski, Francesco Sanfedino

TL;DR

The paper tackles the control-structure-propellant interaction in spacecraft by validating a low-order Equivalent Mechanical Model (EMM) of sloshing against the high-fidelity CFD solver DIVA in closed-loop scenarios. It develops a constraint-surface sloshing model and a unified closed-loop framework to couple sloshing with 3-DOF attitude dynamics, and validates the EMM through open-loop tuning and closed-loop spin-up experiments. The main contribution is demonstrating that the EMM can accurately reproduce the dominant sloshing forces and disturbance torques under feedback control, with order-of-magnitude computational savings enabling rapid design exploration. The findings support using reduced-order slosh models for sensitivity, uncertainty quantification, and early-stage design of propellant-loaded, dynamically actuated spacecraft.

Abstract

New-generation space missions require satellites to carry substantial amounts of liquid propellant, making it essential to analyse the coupled control-structure-propellant dynamics in detail. While Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) offers high-fidelity predictions, its computational cost limits its use in iterative design. Equivalent Mechanical Models (EMMs) provide a faster alternative, though their predictive performance, especially in closed-loop scenarios, remains largely unexplored. This work presents a comparative analysis of a spacecraft under feedback control, using both CFD and a reduced-order sloshing model. Results show good agreement, validating the simplified model for the manoeuvrer considered. This validation enables efficient sensitivity and stability studies, offering a practical tool for early-stage spacecraft design.

Closed-loop control of sloshing fuel in a spinning spacecraft

TL;DR

The paper tackles the control-structure-propellant interaction in spacecraft by validating a low-order Equivalent Mechanical Model (EMM) of sloshing against the high-fidelity CFD solver DIVA in closed-loop scenarios. It develops a constraint-surface sloshing model and a unified closed-loop framework to couple sloshing with 3-DOF attitude dynamics, and validates the EMM through open-loop tuning and closed-loop spin-up experiments. The main contribution is demonstrating that the EMM can accurately reproduce the dominant sloshing forces and disturbance torques under feedback control, with order-of-magnitude computational savings enabling rapid design exploration. The findings support using reduced-order slosh models for sensitivity, uncertainty quantification, and early-stage design of propellant-loaded, dynamically actuated spacecraft.

Abstract

New-generation space missions require satellites to carry substantial amounts of liquid propellant, making it essential to analyse the coupled control-structure-propellant dynamics in detail. While Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) offers high-fidelity predictions, its computational cost limits its use in iterative design. Equivalent Mechanical Models (EMMs) provide a faster alternative, though their predictive performance, especially in closed-loop scenarios, remains largely unexplored. This work presents a comparative analysis of a spacecraft under feedback control, using both CFD and a reduced-order sloshing model. Results show good agreement, validating the simplified model for the manoeuvrer considered. This validation enables efficient sensitivity and stability studies, offering a practical tool for early-stage spacecraft design.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 9 sections, 22 equations, 14 figures, 1 table, 1 algorithm.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Methodology
  3. CFD Numerical Solver
  4. Sloshing Model
  5. Coupling between satellite dynamics and sloshing model
  6. Numerical results
  7. Open-Loop Tuning and Validation
  8. Closed-Loop with feedback control
  9. Discussion and future works

Figures (14)

  • Figure 1: Level Set Function for a circular liquid-gas interface.
  • Figure 2: Solid-Gas-Liquid interface in a circular tank with 0-contact angle. Snapshot shows 3M NOVEC 2704 (Liquid) and air (Gas) under constant acceleration $g_z=-10^{-2}\,\mathrm{m/s}^2$, computed using DIVA.
  • Figure 3: Schematic diagram of the Equivalent Mechanical Model.
  • Figure 4: Sketch of reference frames and constraint surface model.
  • Figure 5: State diagram representing the working modes of the sloshing model, including transitions between unconstrained motion and constrained dynamics.
  • ...and 9 more figures