The Optimal Degree of Gravity Spherical Harmonic Model Calculation for Gravity Disturbance Compensation in Inertial Navigation

In recent years, the significant improvement of inertial navigation, leaves the gravity disturbance as the important factor which affects the accuracy of inertial navigation. This paper focus on the compensation for gravity disturbance with gravity spherical harmonic model, especially the optimal degree of gravity spherical harmonic model with which to calculate the gravity disturbance. The effect of gravity disturbance on inertial navigation is analysed based on the amplitude-frequency response characteristics of inertial navigation error differential equation, then the dominantly influential frequency band of gravity disturbance can be found which is the target of compensation. Combination the dominantly influential frequency band with the spatial resolution of the Earth’s gravity spherical harmonic model EGM2008 which is used to calculate the gravity disturbance, the optimal degree can be determined based on an algorithm proposed in this paper. Finally, shipborne inertial navigation experiment confirms the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.