A root locus analysis of a seismic isolation control system

More advanced inertial guidance systems have established a requirement for ultra-precise components. The requisite components must be tested for precision, accuracy and reliability. In order to properly judge the relative precision of gyroscopes, an extremely quiet facility needs to be established. This report presents a classical, linear systems analysis of the Seismic Isolation Gyro Test Facility of the Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory. The analysis technique used is the Root Locus technique. The analysis commences with the modeling of the individual system components and their combination into sub-systems for separate loop analysis. The loops are identified by their principal sensor; the tiltmeter loop and the Seismometer loop. Following the independent analysis, these loops are combined using inside-out rationale, where the tiltmeter loop is considered as the inside loop. The combination analysis identifies a set of solutions, as well as a possible optimum solution for the aggregate compensation problem. (Modified author abstract)