505. An Approach to an Automated System for Determination of Mass Moments of Inertia

Paper

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to illustrate the feasibility of the design of a specialized digital system for determination of the moment of inertia of space-oriented objects. The feasibility was illustrated through the use of an analog computer and associated interface equipment that was developed in NASA’s Mass Metrology Laboratory.
Existing mechanical and electronic units were employed, where possible, in an attempt to expedite the feasibility study. It was required that determination of the moment of inertia be obtained to 85% accuracy. The developed prototype system greatly exceeded this accuracy, thus concluding the feasibility of the development of a more elaborate and accurate system. Limitations were found in the analog computer accuracy of ‘solution, specifically in regard to the solution of non-linear functions. These limitations can be avoided, in many instances, by variation of computer scaling. In general, the analog computer was found adaptable as an in-line computational device for the subject feasibility study. This may be attributed to the fact that the frequencies encountered are compatible to
analog solution and that the versatility of the computer, mathematically, is unmatched for the time-limited feasibility study program