Active vibration control for free electron lasers

dc.contributor.advisorDenardo, Bruce C.
dc.contributor.advisorHofler, Thomas J.
dc.contributor.authorStetler, Aaron M.
dc.contributor.departmentApplied Physics
dc.date.accessioned2012-03-14T17:47:53Z
dc.date.available2012-03-14T17:47:53Z
dc.date.issued2003-12
dc.description.abstractThis thesis is concerned with active control methods for stabilizing the mirror vibrations of free-electron laser weapons on ships so that the laser continues to deliver full power. Alignment of the mirrors is critical for proper operation because the electron beam and optical mode must substantially overlap. The alignment is expected to be difficult to maintain in a shipboard environment. A theory for controlling the vibrations of a single-degree-of-freedom system is developed and checked by numerical simulations. An apparatus consisting of a flexing aluminum strip was constructed in order to probe the fundamental behavior of actual systems which eventually become unstable as the control gains are increased. A computer data acquisition system (LabVIEW) was implemented so that experiments could be more efficiently and accurately performed. Proportional and derivative controls were used to stabilize the motion of the strip. Experiments reveal that the derivative control behaves according to the theory. In particular, the instability is understood as the result of positive feedback due to a phase shift of the unstable mode. However, the instability due to the proportional control does not behave according to the theory. Improvements that would allow for greater control gains and thus greater stabilization are suggested.en_US
dc.description.distributionstatementApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
dc.description.serviceLieutenant, United States Navyen_US
dc.description.urihttp://archive.org/details/activevibrationc109456139
dc.format.extentxviii, 83 p. : col. ill. ;en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10945/6139
dc.publisherMonterey, California. Naval Postgraduate Schoolen_US
dc.rightsThis publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.en_US
dc.subject.lcshFree electron lasersen_US
dc.subject.lcshLaser weaponsen_US
dc.subject.lcshUnited Statesen_US
dc.subject.lcshLasersen_US
dc.subject.lcshMirrorsen_US
dc.subject.lcshVibrationen_US
dc.titleActive vibration control for free electron lasersen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dspace.entity.typePublication
etd.thesisdegree.disciplineApplied Physicsen_US
etd.thesisdegree.grantorNaval Postgraduate Schoolen_US
etd.thesisdegree.levelMastersen_US
etd.thesisdegree.nameM.S. in Applied Physicsen_US
etd.verifiednoen_US
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