Experimental validation of satellite micro-jitter management strategy in energy harvesting and vibration isolation

Satellite on-board appendages that have mechanical moving parts induce undesirable micro-jitters during their on-orbit operations, which may seriously affect the image quality of the observation satellite. Therefore, the micro-jitter has always been treated as an isolation objective to assure high-quality image. However, this study focuses on the feasibility of both positively utilizing the jitter as a renewable power source and simultaneously assuring the jitter isolation capability. To implement these dual strategies and maximize the performance of the system, it was designed in the form of a tuned mass damper-type electromagnetic energy harvester and combined with a passive vibration isolator. We also evaluate the feasibility of a self-powered system, in which the disturbances from the jitter source are measured by a low power-consuming accelerometer activated by the harvested recycling energy. The basic characteristics of the energy harvester are identified through the dynamic tests. The effectiveness of the proposed system is experimentally evaluated. Moreover, its performance sensitivity with respect to variations of the mechanical properties is investigated.