SBIR-STTR Award

Brashear LP proposes to characterize the problem and possible solutions for acoustic induced disturbances. This problem will likely drive the LOS jitter stability of ABL and similar airborne pointing applications. The research will characterize the acoustic disturbance on ABL hardware then use this detailed description to employ more sophisticated methods of jitter control. Such methods include mechanical based solutions (both active and passive) and electronic motion control solutions. The approaches will be quantitatively compared and assessed for practical implementation.

Benefits:
The proposed improvements in jitter control would have immediate impact on the ABL program. These benefits would include increased operating range to target, reduced dwell time on target or the possibility of designing and incorporating lightweight, flexible structures to reduce system weight. In addition to ABL any directed energy system on an airborne platform, such as ATL, would also benefit. Other directed energy systems such as M-THEL and SBL could also benefit from the improved jitter performance. Finally, any optical system subject to harsh vibration environments or high acoustic loads (such as those caused by high wind loads) could benefit from the proposed improvements in jitter control. ATL is similar application to ABL that is likely to see a higher acoustic disturbance environment from essentially the same sources as ABL. The goal of ATL is microradian pointing stability on a system intended for installation on various airborne platforms. The disturbance modeling techniques and the jitter control solutions learned in this SBIR would directly apply. Anticipated results for successful Phase I include: 1.A description of the acoustic disturbance problem that can be used to seed advanced jitter control methods. 2.Identification and quantified performance prediction of mechanical and structure based jitter control schemes including their effectiveness on the jitter control as a function of frequency. 3.Identification and quantified performance prediction of motion control based jitter control schemes including their effectiveness on the jitter control as a function of frequency. 4.A quantified benefit to the ABL mission parameters. 5.Experimental data that supports the qualitative attributes of a structure solution to acoustic induced jitter.

This effort will investigate jitter reduction mechanisms for primary mirrors of airborne directed energy weapons. The investigation will cover detailed modeling, implementation for active control and a subscale experiment.

Keywords:
Jitter, Active Control , Primary Mirror Active Support, Los Control