Application of Roll-Isolated Inertial Measurement Units to the Instrumentation ofSpinning Vehicles

摘要

Roll-isolated inertial measurement units are developed at Sandia for use in theinstrumentation, guidance, and control of rapidly spinning vehicles. Roll-isolation is accomplished by supporting the inertial instrument cluster (gyros and accelerometers) on a single gimbal, the axis of which is parallel to the vehicle's spin axis. A rotary motor on the gimbal is driven by a servo loop to null the roll gyro output, thus inertially stabilizing the gimbal and instrument cluster while the vehicle spins around it. Roll-isolation prevents saturation of the roll gyro by the high vehicle spin rate, and vastly reduces measurement errors arising from gyro scale factor and alignment uncertainties. Nine versions of Sandia-developed roll-isolated inertial measurement units have been flown on a total of 27 flight tests since 1972.