This paper presents a novel test rig, developed to analyse the behaviour of rolling element bearings subjected to highly varying loads. The design is optimised to measure the bearing behaviour, free from dynamics of the surrounding structure. A test bearing is mounted in a floating housing supported by flexible air springs, providing a preload force on the bearing. This allows measuring the rig...

The goal of this work is to develop techniques and tools to enhance small-spacecraft in-orbit autonomy. The focus is on developing perception and control algorithms to enable autonomous proximity operations, and performing preliminary validation in a laboratory air-bearing testbed. To achieve this, we have developed cubesat engineering models equipped with a simple cold-gas propulsion system, o...

Virginia Tech has developed a testbed comprised of two independent spherical air-bearing platforms for formation flying attitude control simulation, the Distributed Spacecraft Attitude Control System Simulator. The DSACSS is intended to support a wide range of functions; as such, requiring that all controllers be robust to approximations of the system parameters is impractical. We document the ...

Active magnetic bearings are increasingly being utilized in rotating machinery applications as an alternative to the conventional rolling-element and fluid-film bearing types. In this paper three control schemes for a large air-gap magnetic bearing system are described. In the large air-gap situation, the magnetic bearing system operates in highly nonlinear regimes .The non-linearity in this sy...

Active magnetic bearings require some form of control, based on feedback of the position of the suspended object, to overcome open–loop instability and to achieve targeted system performance by modifying the bearing dynamics. In many applications of magnetic bearings, a need to eliminate discrete position sensors may arise either from economic or reliability considerations. Magnetic bearings wh...