Application of smart structure concepts to vibration suppression of a cryocooler coldfinger

A flight experiment demonstrating vibration suppression using smart structure technology is being flown on a small British satellite in late 1993. Piezo actuators are used to suppress motion of the tip of a cryocooler coldfinger in three dimensions. Two actuation methods are being demonstrated: low voltage piezo translators and applique ceramics. The applique ceramics stretch the coldfinger to cancel the tip motion and is discussed in detail in a companion paper. Commercially available piezo translators displace the entire cryocooler to cancel the motion of the tip of the coldfinger as measured by three eddy current transducers. Two types of control systems are being demonstrated: a real time analog control system using position feedback, and a digital feed forward controller that updates it's waveform every second or so. The flight experiment is a technology demonstration. The coldfinger is not being used to cool an operational sensor. Instead, the cooler vibration experiment will demonstrate that this class of hardware can be flown successfully. This includes qualification of the piezos for launch, and for the space environment; the design and qualification of low-power flight piezo drivers; and design and implementation of the control systems