Analysis and control of a thermal management system for robots in temperature-restricted environments

Detailed simulations were performed with a model of a proposed thermal management system (TMS) that allows robots to operate within environments that are hostile to the free expulsion of waste heat. Previous simulations have shown that a closed-loop control method is necessary for the proposed TMS to maintain proper robot operation for long missions. A closed-loop control based on model-predictive methods was constructed in MATLAB around the model of the TMS so long missions are possible without violating any of the operating constraints of the robot or the environment. The closed-loop simulations results show that the control successfully maintains robot operation within the environment for a long mission.