Control system design for azimuth position of earth station antennas

Abstract

Smart earth station antennas have been used for several decades in many applications, from satellite communications to space object detection and tracking. The accuracy of the azimuth position for such antennas plays a crucial role in most steerable ground station antennas. Satellite tracking and space object detection demand precise tracking capabilities from the Earth. Several methods and techniques have been developed and used in industry to control the directions of ground station antennas, including the azimuth position. The challenge of azimuth tracking is increasing with the demand for full-sky coverage and with the exponential increase in space objects, including man-made satellites and operational and nonoperational objects; thus, providing accurate tracking is a key technology that demands continuous enhancement and development. This article presents the use of a PID-proportional-integral-derivative controller, a slide mode controller and a fractional order PID controller. It also introduces a new methodology based on model predictive control (MPC). The manuscript provides the core design for each of these controllers and provides insight into the performance of each controller even in the presence of disturbance. The camel optimization algorithm (COA) was used to obtain the optimal design parameters of each controller in the considered scenarios.