Adaptive predictor-based control for a helicopter system with input delays:Design and experiments

In this paper,we consider a 2-degrees-of-freedom(DOF)helicopter system subject to long input delays and uncertain system parameters.To address the challenges including unknown system parameters and input delays in control design,we develop an adaptive predictor-feedback control law to achieve trajectory tracking.Stability of the closed-loop system is further established,where the tracking errors are shown to converge towards zero.Through simulation and experiments on the helicopter system,we illustrate that tracking of a desired trajectory is achieved with the proposed control scheme.

Neural-Network-Based Adaptive Finite-Time Control for a Two-Degree-of-Freedom Helicopter System With an Event-Triggering Mechanism

Helicopter systems present numerous benefits over fixed-wing aircraft in several fields of application.Developing control schemes for improving the tracking accuracy of such systems is crucial.This paper proposes a neural-network(NN)-based adaptive finite-time control for a two-degree-of-freedom helicopter system.In particular,a radial basis function NN is adopted to solve uncertainty in the helicopter system.Furthermore,an event-triggering mechanism(ETM)with a switching threshold is proposed to alleviate the communication burden on the system.By proposing an adaptive parameter,a bounded estimation,and a smooth function approach,the effect of network measurement errors is effectively compensated for while simultaneously avoiding the Zeno phenomenon.Additionally,the developed adaptive finite-time control technique based on an NN guarantees finitetime convergence of the tracking error,thus enhancing the control accuracy of the system.In addition,the Lyapunov direct method demonstrates that the closed-loop system is semiglobally finite-time stable.Finally,simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness of the control strategy.

Adaptive Control Based on Neural Networks for an Uncertain 2-DOF Helicopter System With Input Deadzone and Output Constraints

In this paper, a study of control for an uncertain2-degree of freedom(DOF) helicopter system is given. The2-DOF helicopter is subject to input deadzone and output constraints. In order to cope with system uncertainties and input deadzone, the neural network technique is introduced because of its capability in approximation. In order to update the weights of the neural network, an adaptive control method is utilized to improve the system adaptability. Furthermore, the integral barrier Lyapunov function(IBLF) is adopt in control design to guarantee the condition of output constraints and boundedness of the corresponding tracking errors. The Lyapunov direct method is applied in the control design to analyze system stability and convergence. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted to prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control based on the model of Quanser's 2-DOF helicopter.

Dynamics Analysis of Close-coupling Multiple Helicopters System

The particularity and practicality of harmony operations of close-coupling multiple helicopters indicate that the researches on it are urgent and necessary, Using the model that describes two hovering helicopters carrying one heavy load, an inertia coordinate system and body coordinate systems of each sub-system are established. A nonlinear force model is established too. The equilibrium computation results can be regarded as the reference control inputs of the flight control system under hovering or low-speed flight condition. After the establishment of a translation kinematics model and a posture kinematics model, a coupling dynamics model of the multiple helicopter system is set up. The results can also be regarded as the base to analyze stabilization and design a controller for a close-coupling multiple helicopters harmony operation system.

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF GUST RESPONSEALLEVIATION CONTROL SYSTEM FOR HELICOPTERS

Gust response alleviation is very important for helicopters which have strong coupling and vibration. Gust disturbance not only influences the ride quality and the precision of the weapon delivery, but also affects to the structural fatigue load and the strength. The method of an optimal control law to suppress the gust disturbance for helicopters is presented. The optimization requires the minimization of the vertical overload at the pilot′s seat, the attitude variation and the control energy consumption under the gust disturbance. Based on the original control system, the new system can be easily realized by adding a vertical speed feedback passage. In order to develop the real-time operational flight control system, the optimized control law is written in C language. The hybrid simulations prove that the performance of gust response alleviation and the efficiency of digitalization are satisfactory.

A NEW AEROMECHANICAL STABILITY ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY FOR COUPLED ROTOR/FUSELAGE SYSTEM OF HELICOPTERS

The aeromechanical st ability for the coupled rotor/fuselage system of helicopters in forward flight i s investigated. The periodic time-varying equations of motion are developed thr ough building a new 24DOF coupled rigid/elastic blended element based on the fle xible multibody system theory in this paper. It accounts for the effects of prec one, sweep, and the moderately large elastic deflections on the blade and elasti city of shaft and fuselage of the helicopter. The dynamic coupling between the r igid motion of blades about the flap, lag and pitch hinges of articulated rotor and moderately large elastic deflections are included. There is no restriction o n the rotation amplitudes of flap, lag and pitch in the formulation. The stabili ty of periodic solution is studied using the Floquet theory. The transition matr ix is calculated by the Newmark integration method. The aeromechanical stability of a new helicopter is studied. The results show that it is stable in the given forward flight. But the instability arises with the decrease of the bending and torsion stiffness of the shaft.

Dynamic Stability Analysis for Helicopter Rotor/Fuselage Coupled Nonlinear Systems

In order to accurately predict the dynamic instabilities of a helicopterrotor/fuselage coupled system, nonlinear differential equations are derived and integrated in thetime domain to yield responses of rotor blade flapping, lead-lag and fuselage motions to simulatethe behavior of the system numerically. To obtain quantitative instabilities, Fast Fourier Transform(FFT) is conducted to estimate the modal frequencies, and Fourier series based moving-blockanalysis is employed in the predictions of the modal damping in terms of the response time history.Study on the helicopter ground resonance exhibits excellent correlation among the time-domain (TD)analytical results, eigenvalues and wind tunnel test data, thus validating the methodology of thepaper. With a large collective pitch set, the predictions of regressive lag modal damping from TDanalysis correlate with the experimental data better than from eigen analysis. TD analysis can beapplied in the dynamic stability analysis of helicopter rotor/fuselage coupled systems incorporatedwith nonlinear blade lag dampers.

Control System Design for an Unmanned Helicopter to Track a Ground Target

Due to potential wide applications,the problem of utilizing an unmanned helicopter to track a ground target has become one of the most active research directions in related areas.However,in most cases,it is possible for a dynamic target to implement evasive actions with strong maneuverability,such as a sudden turn during high-speed movement,to flee from the tracker,which then brings much difficulty for the design of tracking control systems.Currently,most research on this field focuses on utilizing a ground mobile robot to track a high-speed target.Unfortunately,it is very difficult to extend those developed methods to airborne applications due to much more complex dynamices of UAV-target relative motion.This study investiages thoroughly for the problem of using an unmanned helicopter to track a ground target,with particular emphasis on the avoidance of tracking failure caused by the evasive maneuvers of dynamic targets.Specifically,a novel control scheme,which consists of an innovative target tracking controller and a classical flight controller,is proposed for the helicopter-target tracking problem.Wherein,the tracking controller,whose design is the focus of the paper,aims to utilize the motion information of the helicopter and the dynamic target to construct a suitable trajectory for the helicopter,so that when it flies along this trajectory,the relative pose between the helicopter and the dynamic target will be kept consant.When designing the target tracking controller,a novel coordinate transformation is firstly introduced to convert the tracking system into a more compact form convenient for control law design,the desired velocities for the helicopter is then proposed with consideration of the dynamic constraint.The stability of the closed-loop system is finally analyzed by Lyapunov techniques.Based on Matlab/Simulink environment,two groups of simulation are conducted for the helicopter-target tracking control system where the target moves along a linear path and takes a sudden turn during high-speed movement,respectively.As shown by the simulation results,both the distance error and the pointing error are bounded during the tracking process,and they are convergent to zero when the target moves straightly.Moreover,the tracking performance can be adjusted properly to avoid tracking failure due to evasive maneuvers of the target,so as to guarantee superior tracking performance for all kinds of dynamic targets.

Development of an Autonomous Flight Control System for Small Size Unmanned Helicopter Based on Dynamical Model

It is devoted to the development of an autonomous flight control system for small size unmanned helicopter based on dynamical model. At first, the mathematical model of a small size helicopter is described. After that simple but effective MTCV control algorithm was proposed. The whole flight control algorithm is composed of two parts: orientation controller based on the model for rotation dynamics and a robust position controller for a double integrator. The MTCV block is also used to achieve translation velocity control. To demonstrate the performance of the presented algorithm, simulation results and results achieved in real flight experiments were presented.

Theoretical Experimental and Studies on the Influence of the Mast Mounted Sight (MMS) on the Dynamic Behavior of the Focal Isolation System (FIS) of Helicopter

This paper presents a theoretical-cum-experimental study on the dynamic behavior of Focal Isolation System of helicopter equipped with Mast Mounted Sight. A new simplified model of FIS/MMS/ Fuselage with 5-Degree of Freedom (DOF) is proposed, where elasticity of the rotor shaft and the support structure of MMS are taken into account. In order to validate this model and make further investigation on MMS, a dummy MMS and its support are fabricated. Frequency and transfer function experiments are carried out on Z-× helicopter. Good correlation between theoretical and experimental results is achieved. A 39% decrease in 1st longitudinal frequency is noticed for FIS when the mass of MMS is 80kg, which is only 12% of the mass to be isolated. The elasticity of rotor shaft has great influence (403%) on the isolation efficiency of fuselage for prototype.

ADAPTIVE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM OF ARMED HELICOPTER USING WAVELET NEURAL NETWORK METHOD

A discussion is devoted to the design of an adaptive flight control system of the armed helicopter using wavelet neural network method. Firstly, the control loop of the attitude angle is designed with a dynamic inversion scheme in a quick loop and a slow loop. respectively. Then, in order to compensate the error caused by dynamic inversion, the adaptive flight control system of the armed helicopter using wavelet neural network method is put forward, so the BP wavelet neural network and the Lyapunov stable wavelet neural network are used to design the helicopter flight control system. Finally, the typical maneuver flight is simulated to demonstrate its validity and effectiveness. Result proves that the wavelet neural network has an engineering practical value and the effect of WNN is good.

Minor Component Analysis-based Landing Forecast System for Ship-borne Helicopter

The general structure of ship-borne helicopter landing forecast system is presented, and a novel ship motion prediction model based on minor component analysis (MCA) is built up to improve the forecast effectiveness. To validate the feasibility of this landing forecast system, time series for the roll, pitch and heave are generated by simulation and then forecasted based on MCA. Simulation results show that ship-borne helicopters can land safely in higher sea condition while carrying on rescue or replenishment tasks at sea in terms of the landing forecast system.

Numerical Simulation of Aerodynamic Interaction Effects in Coaxial Compound Helicopters

The so-called coaxial compound helicopter features two rigid coaxial rotors,and possesses high-speed capabilities.Nevertheless,the small separation of the coaxial rotors causes severe aerodynamic interactions,which require careful analysis.In the present work,the aerodynamic interaction between the various helicopter components is investigated by means of a numerical method considering both hover and forward flight conditions.While a sliding mesh method is used to deal with the rotating coaxial rotors,the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations are solved for the flow field.The Caradonna&Tung(CT)rotor and Harrington-2 coaxial rotor are considered to validate the numerical method.The results show that the aerodynamic interaction of the two rigid coaxial rotors significantly influences hover’s induced velocity and pressure distribution.In addition,the average thrust of an isolated coaxial rotor is smaller than that of the corresponding isolated single rotor.Compared with the isolated coaxial rotor,the existence of the fuselage results in an increment in the thrust of the rotors.Furthermore,these interactions between the components of the considered coaxial compound helicopter decay with an increase in the advance ratio.

Study of the helicopter blade running elevation measurement system

Helicopter blade running elevation measurement is an important measure target in helicopter blade dynamic balance experimentation. The elevation influences the helicopter＇ s security and other performance capabilities. In testing, however, it has been difficult to measure the elevation when the rotor reaches high speeds. To get a simple, fast and highly accurate measurement system, photo electricity technology was applied to measuring the blade running elevation. Discussed is the measurement principle of blade running elevation, tire design of the measurement system and analysis of the measurement precision.

Identification of landing sites for rescue helicopters in mountains with use of Geographic Information Systems

Helicopters are often used in mountain rescue both for rescuers moving in the area of accidents and for evacuating victims, but in steep or forested terrain finding a landing place can be problematic. The main aim of this research is to use Digital Elevation Model(DEM) and cartographic database analysis to select locations that can be used as landing site for the rescue helicopters. Methods were based on GIS analysis;both raster and vector data were used for identifying touchdown points for rescue helicopters. Based on DEM data, locations with a low slope gradient were identified;topographic vector data were used for identifying unforested sites. Then buffer zones for buildings and power lines were excluded, and it was checked whether the areas had any topographic features that prevented helicopter landings. The findings were verified on an orthophotomap. In result, GIS analyses have selected 1232 polygons that fulfilled initial criteria. Their verification on orthophotomap has shown that only 55% of them could be potentially used as landing site. Landing sites can be found mainly on side ridges of mountain ranges and in valley beds, when those on ridges are most important in this research. The greatest difficulties and methodological challenges are posed by: identification of sites having a shape which prevents landing, the obsolescence of data due to environment dynamics, the presence of features that are not shown on maps but prevent helicopter landings. A map of landing sites is a very useful tool to conduct rescue operations, but each use of a given landing site requires both in-field and numerical verification. The analysis demonstrated that GIS toolsare useful in pre-planning of rescue missions, and also showed that such data must be kept up-to-date and in-field verification is needed continuously, the more so as it plays an important role in ensuring the safety of rescuers and victims.

Robust Anti⁃swing Control for Unmanned Helicopter Slung⁃Load System with Prescribed Performance

A robust anti-swing control method based on the error transformation function is proposed,and the problem is handled for the unmanned helicopter slung-load system(HSLS)deviating from the equilibrium state due to the disturbances in the lifting process.First,the nonlinear model of unmanned HSLS is established.Second,the errors of swing angles are constructed by using the two ideal swing angle values and the actual swing angle values for the unmanned HSLS under flat flight,and the error transformation functions are investigated to guarantee that the errors of swing angles satisfy the prescribed performance.Third,the nonlinear disturbance observers are introduced to estimate the bounded disturbances,and the robust controllers of the unmanned HSLS,the velocity and the attitude subsystems are designed based on the prescribed performance method,the output of disturbance observer and the sliding mode backstepping strategy,respectively.Fourth,the Lyapunov function is developed to prove the stability of the closed-loop system.Finally,the simulation studies are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy.

Framework of Combined Adaptive and Non-adaptive Attitude Control System for a Helicopter Experimental System

This paper presents a framework of a combined adaptive and non-adaptive attitude control system for a helicopter experimental system. The design method is based on a combination of adaptive nonlinear control and non-adaptive nonlinear control. With regard to detailed attitude control system design, two schemes are shown for different application cases.

Robot Pilot:A New Autonomous System toward Flying Manned Aerial Vehicles

The robot pilot is a new concept of a robot system that pilots a manned aircraft,thereby forming a new type of unmanned aircraft system(UAS)that makes full use of the platform maturity,load capacity,and airworthiness of existing manned aircraft while greatly expanding the operation and application fields of UASs.In this research,the implementation and advantages of the robot pilot concept are discussed in detail,and a helicopter robot pilot is proposed to fly manned helicopters.The robot manipulators are designed according to the handling characteristics of the helicopter-controlling mechanism.Based on a kinematic analysis of the robot manipulators,a direct-driving method is established for the robot flight controller to reduce the time delay and control error of the robot servo process.A supporting ground station is built to realize different flight modes and the functional integration of the robot pilot.Finally,a prototype of the helicopter robot pilot is processed and installed in a helicopter to carry out flight tests.The test results show that the robot pilot can independently fly the helicopter to realize forward flight,backward flight,side flight,and turning flight,which verifies the effectiveness of the helicopter robot pilot.

Disturbance Observer-Based Safe Tracking Control for Unmanned Helicopters With Partial State Constraints and Disturbances

In this paper, a disturbance observer-based safe tracking control scheme is proposed for a medium-scale unmanned helicopter with rotor flapping dynamics in the presence of partial state constraints and unknown external disturbances. A safety protection algorithm is proposed to keep the constrained states within the given safe-set. A second-order disturbance observer technique is utilized to estimate the external disturbances. It is shown that the desired tracking performance of the controlled unmanned helicopter can be achieved with the application of the backstepping approach, dynamic surface control technique, and Lyapunov method. Finally, the availability of the proposed control scheme has been shown by simulation results.

Fuzzy Logic Attitude Control System for a Mini Helicopter Expanded Non Linear Mathematical Model

Full nonlinear mathematical model for a mini helicopter is very complex, inflexible and has big influence on the designed control system performance. Analytical approach for autonomous helicopter modeling including both swash plate and mixer dynamics additional to miniature helicopter equations of motion is introduced. Attitude control system without linearization process is directly designed using fuzzy logic concepts, fuzzy controllers are implemented in both stability and command augmentation loops. Scaling factors are adjusted to minimize the error. The performance of control system for miniature helicopter expanded nonlinear model using fuzzy logic controllers is evaluated through simulation.