Schuler tuning

Schuler tuning is a design principle for inertial navigation systems that accounts for the curvature of the Earth. An inertial navigation system, used in submarines, ships, aircraft, and other vehicles to keep track of position, determines directions with respect to three axes pointing 'north', 'east', and 'down'. To detect the vehicle's orientation, the system contains an 'inertial platform' mounted on gimbals, with gyroscopes that detect motion connected to a servo system to keep it pointing in a fixed orientation in space. However, the directions 'north', 'east' and 'down' change as the vehicle moves on the curved surface of the Earth. Schuler tuning describes the conditions necessary for an inertial navigation system to keep the inertial platform always pointing 'north', 'east' and 'down', so it gives correct directions on the near-spherical Earth. It is widely used in electronic control systems. Schuler tuning is a design principle for inertial navigation systems that accounts for the curvature of the Earth. An inertial navigation system, used in submarines, ships, aircraft, and other vehicles to keep track of position, determines directions with respect to three axes pointing 'north', 'east', and 'down'. To detect the vehicle's orientation, the system contains an 'inertial platform' mounted on gimbals, with gyroscopes that detect motion connected to a servo system to keep it pointing in a fixed orientation in space. However, the directions 'north', 'east' and 'down' change as the vehicle moves on the curved surface of the Earth. Schuler tuning describes the conditions necessary for an inertial navigation system to keep the inertial platform always pointing 'north', 'east' and 'down', so it gives correct directions on the near-spherical Earth. It is widely used in electronic control systems. As first explained by German engineer Maximilian Schuler in a 1923 paper, a pendulum whose period exactly equals the orbital period of a hypothetical satellite orbiting just above the surface of the Earth (about 84 minutes) will tend to remain pointing at the center of the Earth when its support is suddenly displaced. Such a pendulum would have a length equal to the radius of the Earth. Consider a simple gravity pendulum, whose length equals the radius of the Earth, suspended in a uniform gravitational field of the same strength as that experienced at the Earth's surface. If suspended from the surface of the Earth, the bob of the pendulum would be at the center of the Earth. If it is hanging motionless and its support is moved sideways, the bob tends to remain motionless, so the pendulum always points at the center of the Earth. If such a pendulum were attached to the inertial platform of an inertial navigation system, the platform would remain level, facing 'north', 'east' and 'down', as it was moved about on the surface of the Earth. A rigid pendulum may also be made to have the required period, with a pivot near its center of gravity. The Schuler period can be derived from the classic formula for the period of a pendulum: where L is the radius of the earth in meters and g is the local acceleration of gravity in metres per second per second. A pendulum the length of the Earth's radius is impractical, so Schuler tuning doesn't use physical pendulums. Instead, the electronic control system of the inertial navigation system is modified to make the platform behave as if it were attached to a pendulum. The inertial platform is mounted on gimbals, and an electronic control system keeps it pointed in a constant direction with respect to the three axes. As the vehicle moves, the gyroscopes detect changes in orientation, and a feedback loop applies signals to torquers to rotate the platform on its gimbals to keep it pointed along the axes. To implement Schuler tuning, the feedback loop is modified to tilt the platform as the vehicle moves in the north-south and east-west directions, to keep the platform facing 'down'. To do this, the torquers that rotate the platform are fed a signal proportional to the vehicle's north-south and east-west velocity. The turning rate of the torquers is equal to the velocity divided by the radius of the Earth R: