Robust fixed-time flight controller for a dual-system convertible UAV in the cruise mode

This paper investigates the attitude tracking control problem for the cruise mode of a dual-system convertible unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)in the presence of parameter uncertainties,unmodeled uncertainties and wind disturbances.First,a fixed-time disturbance observer(FXDO)based on the bi-limit homogeneity theory is designed to estimate the lumped disturbance of the convertible UAV model.Then,a fixed-time integral sliding mode control(FXISMC)is combined with the FXDO to achieve strong robustness and chattering reduction.Bi-limit homogeneity theory and Lyapunov theory are applied to provide detailed proof of the fixed-time stability.Finally,numerical simulation experimental results verify the robustness of the proposed algorithm to model parameter uncertainties and wind disturbances.In addition,the proposed algorithm is deployed in a open-source UAV autopilot and its effectiveness is further demonstrated by hardware-in-the-loop experimental results.

An intelligent control method based on artificial neural network for numerical flight simulation of the basic finner projectile with pitching maneuver

In this paper,an intelligent control method applying on numerical virtual flight is proposed.The proposed algorithm is verified and evaluated by combining with the case of the basic finner projectile model and shows a good application prospect.Firstly,a numerical virtual flight simulation model based on overlapping dynamic mesh technology is constructed.In order to verify the accuracy of the dynamic grid technology and the calculation of unsteady flow,a numerical simulation of the basic finner projectile without control is carried out.The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment data which shows that the algorithm used in this paper can also be used in the design and evaluation of the intelligent controller in the numerical virtual flight simulation.Secondly,combined with the real-time control requirements of aerodynamic,attitude and displacement parameters of the projectile during the flight process,the numerical simulations of the basic finner projectile’s pitch channel are carried out under the traditional PID(Proportional-Integral-Derivative)control strategy and the intelligent PID control strategy respectively.The intelligent PID controller based on BP(Back Propagation)neural network can realize online learning and self-optimization of control parameters according to the acquired real-time flight parameters.Compared with the traditional PID controller,the concerned control variable overshoot,rise time,transition time and steady state error and other performance indicators have been greatly improved,and the higher the learning efficiency or the inertia coefficient,the faster the system,the larger the overshoot,and the smaller the stability error.The intelligent control method applying on numerical virtual flight is capable of solving the complicated unsteady motion and flow with the intelligent PID control strategy and has a strong promotion to engineering application.

Fixed-Time Sliding Mode Control With Varying Exponent Coefficient for Modular Reconfigurable Flight Arrays

The modular system can change its physical structure by self-assembly and self-disassembly between modules to dynamically adapt to task and environmental requirements. Recognizing the adaptive capability of modular systems, we introduce a modular reconfigurable flight array(MRFA) to pursue a multifunction aircraft fitting for diverse tasks and requirements,and investigate the attitude control and the control allocation problem by using the modular reconfigurable flight array as a platform. First, considering the variable and irregular topological configuration of the modular array, a center-of-mass-independent flight array dynamics model is proposed to allow control allocation under over-actuated situations. Secondly, in order to meet the stable, fast and accurate attitude tracking performance of the MRFA, a fixed-time convergent sliding mode controller with state-dependent variable exponent coefficients is proposed to ensure fast convergence rate both away from and near the system equilibrium point without encountering the singularity. It is shown that the controller also has fixed-time convergent characteristics even in the presence of external disturbances. Finally,simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling and control strategies.

Research on Teaching Methods of Flight Control Principles

With the rapid development of China’s civil aviation industry,the teaching method of operating knowledge of flight principles has changed greatly,which creates a good implementation environment to improve the safety of civil aviation in our country.At present,the main training content of air route transport pilots in China is basic aviation theory,initial flight training,airline modification,etc.The principles of flight control are an important part of basic aviation theoretical knowledge training,which will involve a large number of flight technology training content,instructors will also be based on the pilot type.Teaching flight control theory and practical knowledge requires relatively high theoretical learning ability of students,and the learning effect of this part of theoretical knowledge will directly affect the quality of subsequent learning,but also directly affect the effectiveness of flight training.This paper focuses on the analysis of the basic concepts of flight control,studies the existing problems in the teaching of flight control principles,summarizes the teaching measures of flight control principles,aiming to provide a reference to teaching personnel.

Nonlinear direct data-driven control for UAV formation flight system

This paper proposes the nonlinear direct data-driven control from theoretical analysis and practical engineering,i.e.,unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)formation flight system.Firstly,from the theoretical point of view,consider one nonlinear closedloop system with a nonlinear plant and nonlinear feed-forward controller simultaneously.To avoid the complex identification process for that nonlinear plant,a nonlinear direct data-driven control strategy is proposed to design that nonlinear feed-forward controller only through the input-output measured data sequence directly,whose detailed explicit forms are model inverse method and approximated analysis method.Secondly,from the practical point of view,after reviewing the UAV formation flight system,nonlinear direct data-driven control is applied in designing the formation controller,so that the followers can track the leader’s desired trajectory during one small time instant only through solving one data fitting problem.Since most natural phenomena have nonlinear properties,the direct method must be the better one.Corresponding system identification and control algorithms are required to be proposed for those nonlinear systems,and the direct nonlinear controller design is the purpose of this paper.

Design methodology of a mini-missile considering flight performance and guidance precision

The design of mini-missiles(MMs)presents several novel challenges.The stringent mission requirement to reach a target with a certain precision imposes a high guidance precision.The miniaturization of the size of MMs makes the design of the guidance,navigation,and control(GNC)have a larger-thanbefore impact on the main-body design(shape,motor,and layout design)and its design objective,i.e.,flight performance.Pursuing a trade-off between flight performance and guidance precision,all the relevant interactions have to be accounted for in the design of the main body and the GNC system.Herein,a multi-objective and multidisciplinary design optimization(MDO)is proposed.Disciplines pertinent to motor,aerodynamics,layout,trajectory,flight dynamics,control,and guidance are included in the proposed MDO framework.The optimization problem seeks to maximize the range and minimize the guidance error.The problem is solved by using the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II.An optimum design that balances a longer range with a smaller guidance error is obtained.Finally,lessons learned about the design of the MM and insights into the trade-off between flight performance and guidance precision are given by comparing the optimum design to a design provided by the traditional approach.

ADRC FRACTIONAL ORDER PID CONTROLLER DESIGN OF HYPERSONIC FLIGHT VEHICLE

Active disturbance rejection controller（ADRC）uses tracking-differentiator（TD）to solve the contradiction between the overshoot and the rapid nature.Fractional order proportion integral derivative（PID）controller improves the control quality and expands the stable region of the system parameters.ADRC fractional order（ADRFO）PID controller is designed by combining ADRC with the fractional order PID and applied to reentry attitude control of hypersonic vehicle.Simulation results show that ADRFO PID controller has better control effect and greater stable region for the strong nonlinear model of hypersonic flight vehicle under the influence of external disturbance,and has stronger robustness against the perturbation in system parameters.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF SELF-REPAIRING FLIGHT CONTROL

The most prospective method for certain structural failures and damages that cannot employ redundancy is self-repairing techniques, to ensure especially the maximum flight safety. Based on the characters of self-repairing aircraft, this paper states some basic assumptions of the self-repairing aircraft, and puts forward some special new conceptions concerning the self-repairing aircraft: control input, operating input, command input, repair input and operating and control factor as well as their relationships. Thus it provides a simple and reliable mathematical model structure for the research on the self-repairing control of the aircraft.

APPLICATION OF HYBRID AERO-ENGINE MODEL FOR INTEGRATED FLIGHT/PROPULSION OPTIMAL CONTROL

The real-time capability of integrated flight/propulsion optimal control （IFPOC） is studied. An appli- cation is proposed for IFPOC by combining the onboard hybrid aero-engine model with sequential quadratic pro- gramming （SQP）. Firstly, a steady-state hybrid aero-engine model is designed in the whole flight envelope with a dramatic enhancement of real-time capability. Secondly, the aero-engine performance seeking control including the maximum thrust mode and the minimum fuel-consumption mode is performed by SQP. Finally, digital simu- lations for cruise and accelerating flight are carried out. Results show that the proposed method improves real- time capability considerably with satisfactory effectiveness of optimization.

ADAPTIVE BACKSTEPPING FLIGHT CONTROL WITH ACTUATOR SATURATION

Because actuator satu ration can become a problem or even a disaster in flight control system, the con sideration of actuator saturation in the design phase may indeed reduce the degr ee of conservativeness of an flight control system (FCS) and thus noticeably enh ance the performance of the FCS. Deflection limits and rate limits are both cons idered in a new adaptive backstepping FCS design process. The key of the method is that a new control Lyapunov function (CLF) and a control law are chosen when the actuator saturation occurs. This idea results from that there must be a vari ation in the pseudo-control at saturation. The whole progress is a modification of an early presented method: adaptive backstepping control scheme. The stabili ty is proved and verified successfully. The conclusion and some comments about t his method are given in the end.

Adaptive Sliding Control of Six-DOF Flight Simulator Motion Platform

There is proposed an adaptive sliding controller in task space on the base of the linear Newton-Euler dynamic equation of motion platform in a six-DOF flight simulator. The uncertain parameters are divided into two groups： the constant and the time-varying. The controller identifies constant uncertain parameters using nonlinear adaptive controller associated with elimination of the influences of time-varying uncertain parameters and compensation of the external disturbance using sliding control. The results of numerical simulation attest to the capability of this control scheme not only to, with deadly accuracy, identify parameters of motion platform such as load, inertia moments and mass center, but also effectively improve the robustness of the system.

FUZZY GLOBAL SLIDING MODE CONTROL BASED ON GENETIC ALGORITHM AND ITS APPLICATION FOR FLIGHT SIMULATOR SERVO SYSTEM

To alleviate the chattering problem, a new type of fuzzy global sliding mode controller （FGSMC） is presented. In this controller, the switching gain is estimated by fuzzy logic system based on the reachable conditions of sliding mode controller（SMC）, and genetic algorithm （GA） is used to optimize scaling factor of the switching gain, thus the switch chattering of SMC can be alleviated. Moreover, global sliding mode is realized by designing an exponential dynamic sliding surface. Simulation and real-time application for flight simulator servo system with Lugre friction are given to indicate that the proposed controller can guarantee high robust performance all the time and can alleviate chattering phenomenon effectively.

Nominal Model-Based Sliding Mode Control with Backstepping for 3-Axis Flight Table

Based on nominal model, a novel global sliding mode controller （GSMC） with a new control scheme is proposed for a practical uncertain servo system. This control scheme consists of two combined controllers, One is the global sliding mode controller for practical plant, the other is the integral backstepping controller for nominal model. Modeling error between practical plant and nominal model is used to design GSMC. The steady-state control accuracy can be guaranteed by the integral backstepping control law, and the global robustness can be obtained by GSMC. The stability of the proposed controller is proved according to the Lyapunov approach. The simulation results both of sine signal and step signal tracking for 3-axis flight table are investigated to show good position tracking performance and high robustness with respect to large and parameter changes over all the response time.

Sliding Mode Controller Design for Position and Speed Control of Flight Simulator Servo System with Large Friction

Flight simulator is an important device and a typical high-performance position and speed servo system used in the hardware-in-the-loop simulation of flight control system. Friction is the main nonlinear resistance in the flight simulator servo system, especially in a low-speed state. Based on the description of dynamic and static models of a nonlinear Stribeck friction model, this paper puts forward sliding mode controller to overcome the friction, whose stability is

Novel robust fault diagnosis method for flight control systems

A novel robust fault diagnosis scheme, which possesses fault estimate capability as well as fault diagnosis property, is proposed. The scheme is developed based on a suitable combination of the adaptive multiple model （AMM） and unknown input observer （UIO）. The main idea of the proposed scheme stems from the fact that the actuator Lock-in-Place fault is unknown （when and where the actuator gets locked are unknown）, and multiple models are used to describe different fault scenarios, then a bank of unknown input observers are designed to implement the disturbance de-coupling. According to Lyapunov theory, proof of the robustness of the newly developed scheme in the presence of faults and disturbances is derived. Numerical simulation results on an aircraft example show satisfactory performance of the proposed algorithm.

Nonlinear Intelligent Flight Control for Quadrotor Unmanned Helicopter

Quadrotor unmanned helicopter is a new popular research platform for unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV),thanks to its simple construction,vertical take-off and landing(VTOL)capability.Here a nonlinear intelligent flight control system is developed for quadrotor unmanned helicopter,including trajectory control loop composed of co-controller and state estimator,and attitude control loop composed of brain emotional learning(BEL)intelligent controller.BEL intelligent controller based on mammalian middle brain is characterized as self-learning capability,model-free and robustness.Simulation results of a small quadrotor unmanned helicopter show that the BEL intelligent controller-based flight control system has faster dynamical responses with higher precision than the traditional controller-based system.

Flight Control System of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

To date unmanned aerial system(UAS)technologies have attracted more and more attention from countries in the world.Unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)play an important role in reconnaissance,surveillance,and target tracking within military and civil fields.Here one briefly introduces the development of UAVs,and reviews its various subsystems including autopilot,ground station,mission planning and management subsystem,navigation system and so on.Furthermore,an overview is provided for advanced design methods of UAVs control system,including the linear feedback control,adaptive and nonlinear control,and intelligent control techniques.Finally,the future of UAVs flight control techniques is forecasted.

Control for going from hovering to small speed flight of a model insect

The longitudinal steady-state control for going from hovering to small speed flight of a model insect is studied, using the method of computational fluid dynamics to compute the aerodynamic derivatives and the techniques based on the linear theories of stability and control for determining the non-zero equilibrium points. Morphological and certain kinematical data of droneflies are used for the model insect. A change in the mean stroke angle （δФ） results in a horizontal forward or backward flight; a change in the stroke amplitude （δФ） or a equal change in the down- and upstroke angles of attack （δα1） results in a vertical climb or decent; a proper combination of δФ and δФ controls （or δФ and δα1 controls） can give a flight of any （small） speed in any desired direction.

Circular Formation Flight Control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles With Directed Network and External Disturbance

This paper proposes a new distributed formation flight protocol for unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)to perform coordinated circular tracking around a set of circles on a target sphere.Different from the previous results limited in bidirectional networks and disturbance-free motions,this paper handles the circular formation flight control problem with both directed network and spatiotemporal disturbance with the knowledge of its upper bound.Distinguishing from the design of a common Lyapunov fiunction for bidirectional cases,we separately design the control for the circular tracking subsystem and the formation keeping subsystem with the circular tracking error as input.Then the whole control system is regarded as a cascade connection of these two subsystems,which is proved to be stable by input-tostate stability(ISS)theory.For the purpose of encountering the external disturbance,the backstepping technology is introduced to design the control inputs of each UAV pointing to North and Down along the special sphere(say,the circular tracking control algorithm)with the help of the switching function.Meanwhile,the distributed linear consensus protocol integrated with anther switching anti-interference item is developed to construct the control input of each UAV pointing to east along the special sphere(say,the formation keeping control law)for formation keeping.The validity of the proposed control law is proved both in the rigorous theory and through numerical simulations.

Dynamic Surface Control with Nonlinear Disturbance Observer for Uncertain Flight Dynamic System

A new robust control method of a nonlinear flight dynamic system with aerodynamic coefficients and external disturbance has been proposed.The proposed control system is a combination of the dynamic surface control(DSC)and the nonlinear disturbance observer(NDO).DSC technique provides the ability to overcome the″explosion of complexity″problem in backstepping control.NDO is adopted to observe the uncertainties in nonlinear flight dynamic system.It has been proved that the proposed design method can guarantee uniformly ultimately boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop system by Lyapunov stability theorem.Finally,simulation results show that the proposed controller provides better performance than the traditional nonlinear controller.