470 pgs, 1993, AIAA
ISBN 978-1563470547

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to two important disciplines indispensible in the design of spacecraft and aeronautical structures: Engineering Mechanics and Control Engineering. The rationale behind their novel unified approach in teaching dynamical modeling, analysis, and control design for flexible structures, according to the authors, is that "effective control laws for mechanical systems are best designed by one who understands both the basic mechanics of the system under consideration and the control methodology being used to design the control law."

A better understanding of the interface between these two disciplines is indeed the crucial development needed to better design for actively controlled aerospace structures. This book provides an outstanding text to strengthen this important interface for practicing engineers and students of aeronautical / astronautical engineering.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Mathematical Background: Matrix Analysis and Computation
3. Stability in the Sense of Lyapunov: Theory and Applications
4. Mathematical Models of Flexible Structures
5. Design of Linear State Feedback Control Systems
6. Controllability and Observability of Finite-Dimensional Systems
7. Design of Linear Output Feedback Control System