Review on uncertainty analysis and information fusion diagnosis of aircraft control system

In the aircraft control system,sensor networks are used to sample the attitude and environmental data.As a result of the external and internal factors(e.g.,environmental and task complexity,inaccurate sensing and complex structure),the aircraft control system contains several uncertainties,such as imprecision,incompleteness,redundancy and randomness.The information fusion technology is usually used to solve the uncertainty issue,thus improving the sampled data reliability,which can further effectively increase the performance of the fault diagnosis decision-making in the aircraft control system.In this work,we first analyze the uncertainties in the aircraft control system,and also compare different uncertainty quantitative methods.Since the information fusion can eliminate the effects of the uncertainties,it is widely used in the fault diagnosis.Thus,this paper summarizes the recent work in this aera.Furthermore,we analyze the application of information fusion methods in the fault diagnosis of the aircraft control system.Finally,this work identifies existing problems in the use of information fusion for diagnosis and outlines future trends.

Adaptive PI Control Based Stability Margin Configuration of Aircraft Control Systems with Unknown System Parameters and Time Delay

The stability margin is a vital indicator for assessing the safety level of aircraft control systems.It should maintain sufficient stability margin to ensure safety during flight,especially in the process of large maneuver operations.The stability margin is generally quantified by the Bode diagram,which strictly depends on the system parameters and the open-loop transfer function.However,due to the uncertain flight environments,transmission delays of sensors and mode switchings,etc.,there exist large parameter and structure uncertainties in the aircraft control systems,which make it difficult to precisely configure the stability margin to the desired value by the usual control methods.To address this problem,an indirect adaptive control strategy is proposed in this paper,where an adaptive PI control law with the capability of self-configuration of stability margin is developed.The developed control law not only achieves stable time-varying command tracking in the time domain,but also is able to automatically configure the phase margin and gain margin in the frequency domain.Finally,the simulation of the one-degree-of-freedom roll rate control model of the air vehicle verifies the validity of the proposed control method.

Simple Adaptive Delta Operator Aircraft Flight Control for Accommodation of Loss of Control Effectiveness

A new proof for stability of delta operator simple adaptive control is presented in terms of a set of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The paper shows how to design a feedforward gain to satisfy the LMIs over a polytope of loss of control effectiveness failures. The MATLAB Robust Control Toolbox is used to find the feedforward gain with the smallest norm that satisfies the LMIs. Examples are presented of the F/A-18 aircraft and the Innovative Control Effectors (ICE) tailless aircraft that show the design of a feedforward gain for a loss of control effectiveness in any one control effector. The designs use a fixed eigenstructure assignment controller for an inner loop augmented with the simple adaptive controller. Simulations of both aircraft include simultaneous loss of control effectiveness failure and lateral wind gust. Simulation results for the F/A-18 aircraft show that the adaptive controller achieves almost perfect tracking whereas the nonadaptive controller cannot achieve a coordinated turn when an aileron failure occurs. The ICE tailless aircraft uses sideslip, washed-out stability axis yaw rate, and stability axis roll rate feedback for both the inner loop eigenstructure assignment controller and the simple adaptive controller. However, the adaptive controller also uses bank angle feedback. Simulation results for the ICE tailless aircraft show that the adaptive controller achieves almost perfect tracking whereas the nonadaptive controller diverges when an all moving tip failure occurs.

Consensus intuitionistic fuzzy group decision-making method for aircraft cockpit display and control system evaluation

A novel group decision-making （GDM） method based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets （IFSs） is developed to evaluate the ergonomics of aircraft cockpit display and control system （ACDCS）. The GDM process with four steps is discussed. Firstly, approaches are proposed to transform four types of common judgement representations into a unified expression by the form of the IFS, and the features of unifications are analyzed. Then, the aggregation operator called the IFSs weighted averaging （IFSWA） operator is taken to synthesize decision-makers’ （DMs’） preferences by the form of the IFS. In this operator, the DM’s reliability weights factors are determined based on the distance measure between their preferences. Finally, an improved score function is used to rank alternatives and to get the best one. An illustrative example proves the proposed method is effective to valuate the ergonomics of the ACDCS.

Novel robust control framework for morphing aircraft

This paper develops a robust control methodology for a class of morphing aircraft,which is called innovative control effector（ICE） aircraft.For the ICE morphing aircraft,the distributed arrays of hundreds of shape-change devices are employed to stabilize and maneuver the air vehicle.Because the morphing aircraft have the inherent uncertainty and varying dynamics due to the alteration of their configuration,a desired control performance can not be satisfied with a fixed feedback controller.Therefore,a novel control framework including an adaptive flight control law and an adaptive allocation algorithm is proposed.Firstly,a state feedback adaptive control law is designed to guarantee closed-loop stability and state tracking in the presence of uncertain dynamics caused by the wing shape change due to different flight missions.In the control allocation,many distributed arrays are managed in an optimal way to improve the robustness of the system.The scheme is used to an uncertain morphing aircraft model,and the simulation results demonstrate their performance.

Control allocation for aircraft with input constraints based on improved cuckoo search algorithm

The control allocation problem of aircraft whose control inputs contain integer constraints is investigated. The control allocation problem is described as an integer programming problem and solved by the cuckoo search algorithm. In order to enhance the search capability of the cuckoo search algorithm, the adaptive detection probability and amplification factor are designed. Finally, the control allocation method based on the proposed improved cuckoo search algorithm is applied to the tracking control problem of the innovative control effector aircraft. The comparative simulation results demonstrate the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed improved cuckoo search algorithm in control allocation of aircraft.

Study on the control course of ANFIS based aircraft auto-landing

The control model in the course of an aircraft auto-landing is first proposed. Then, the common basic hypotheses in the design of a fuzzy logic controller axe described. The fuzzy inference system of an aircraft auto-landing fuzzy controller in the course of automatic control on landing is investigated. The auto-landing model for controlling, membership functions of state variables, inference rules in the system, algorithms for fuzzy inference and defuzzification, etc, are analyzed and devised in detail with the emphasis on optimal analysis and design of Takagi-Sugeno ALFC based on adaptive neural fuzzy inference systems. Finally, the simulation for verification and analysis of the designed schemes is made by utilizing Simulink and fuzzy logic toolbox with MATLAB. The simulated results show that the ANFIS based T-S type ALFC scheme has excellent behavior in performance.

Improved Hybrid Robust Control Method for the Electromechanical Actuator in Aircrafts

In the flight process of aircrafts, their electromechanical actuators（EMA） must have the ability of enduring uncertainties caused by factors such as load disturbance, the variation of work temperature and the EMA＇s nonlinearity. At present, in order to increase the EMA＇s robustness on the uncertainties, the H, control method has been applied in aircrafts. The major problems with standard H∞ control lie in the large overshoot of step response and the high orders of the controller. For the purpose of addressing the two problems, this paper investigates several kinds of robust control strategies of the EMA. A mathematical model of the EMA is first built, and then with MATLAB software a H∞ controller and an improved hybrid robust controller composed of a reduced order H∞controller and a lead compensator are designed. In order to make a scientific comparison of the control effects of H∞ controller, hybrid controller and classic proportion-integral-differential（PID） controller, a simulation research is made in respect of the open loop frequency response and the closed loop step response of the three controllers. For comparing the robustness of the three controllers, the load torque is entered as a disturbance and the disturbance response of error and control input are thus obtained. The experiments with the three controllers are also conducted. Through giving the EMA a command and a disturbance torque successively, the transient response and disturbing process of EMA are recorded. The simulation and experiment results show that with the help of the hybrid controller, the EMA not only guarantees good dynamic characteristics, but also has strong robustness of disturbance rejection. Therefore, the excogitated H∞ hybrid control method effectively solves the problem of large overshoot in dynamic response, and moderately meets the requirement of overcoming the uncertainties in the EMA of aircrafts.

Robust Fault-Tolerant Control for Longitudinal Dynamics of Aircraft with Input Saturation

A robust fault-tolerant control scheme is proposed for the longitudinal dynamics of an aircraft with input saturation,using the anti-windup method and the fault detection observer technology.To estimate the system fault,a detection observer is designed for the longitudinal dynamics,and a fault-tolerant control law is developed to compensate for the fault effects of the longitudinal dynamics.Then,an anti-windup compensator is augmented into the fault-tolerant control law to eliminate the effect of input saturation.Using linear matrix inequality(LMI)technology,the detection observer based fault-tolerant controller is designed to ensure the stability of the closed-loop system and the convergence of the detection observer.Finally,the developed robust fault-tolerant control scheme is applied to the longitudinal model of an aircraft and simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Guidance and Control Techniques of Carrier-Based Aircraft for Automatic Carrier Landing

We summarize the guidance and control techniques of automatic carrier landing for carrier-based aircraft.First,we analyze the carrier landing operations of the manned fixed-wing aircraft,unmanned fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.Second,we look into the navigation and guidance system and the flight control methods for current different aircraft.Finally,we draw several conclusions of the development prospects for aircraft carrier landing,including the precision landing control techniques,precision approach and landing guidance techniques,and adaptive,reconfigurable and intelligent flight control techniques.

Optimal Preview Control for Automatic Carrier Landing System of Carrier-Based Aircraft with Air Wake

Carrier-based aircraft carrier landing is a special kind of tracking control problem and not suitable for classical control methods,which may miss the desired performance or result in overdesign.Therefore,we present an optimal preview control for automatic carrier landing system(ACLS)by using state information of system,as well as future reference information,which can avoid the shortcomings of classical control methods.Since the flight performance of carrier-based aircraft is disturbed by air wake when the aircraft flies near the area of carrier stern,we design a disturbance rejection strategy to ensure that aircraft track the glide path with high precision and robustness.Further,carrier-based aircraft is a complex nonlinear system.However,the nonlinear model of carrier-based aircraft can be linearized at equilibrium landing state and decoupled into the longitudinal model and the lateral model.Therefore,an optimal preview control system is designed.The simulation results of a carrier-based aircraft show that the optimal preview control system can effectively suppress air wake.Tracking accuracy of optimal preview controller is higher than that of the proportional integral differential(PID)control system.

Active control of an aircraft tail subject to harmonic excitation

Vibration of structures is often an undesirable phenomena and should be avoided or controlled. There are two techniques to control the vibration of a system, that is, active and passive control techniques. In this paper, a negative feedback velocity is applied to a dynamical system, which is represented by two coupled second order nonlinear differential equations having both quadratic and cubic nonlinearties. The system describes the vibration of an aircraft tail. The system is subjected to multi-external excitation forces. The method of multiple time scale perturbation is applied to solve the nonlinear differential equations and obtain approximate solutions up to third order of accuracy. The stability of the system is investigated applying frequency response equations. The effects of the different parameters are studied numerically. Various resonance cases are investigated. A comparison is made with the available published work.

Inverse Model Control for a Quad-rotor Aircraft Using TS-fuzzy Support Vector Regression

An inverse model control based on TS-fuzzy support vector regression( TS-fuzzy SVR) for a quadrotor aircraft is developed. The TS-kernel is the product of linear combination of input and a cluster of output corresponding to a cluster of TS-type fuzzy rules. The output of TS-fuzzy SVR is a linear weighted sum of the TSkernels. The dynamical model of the quad-rotor aircraft is derived. A new control scheme combined with TSfuzzy SVR inverse model control and PID control is presented so that the TS-fuzzy SVR inverse model control enhances capabilities of disturbance rejection and the robustness while the PID control enhances fast responsiveness and reliability of the system. Simulation results show the capabilities of the developed control for the attitude system of quad-rotor aircraft.

ANALYSIS OF COUPLING SENSITIVITY OF UN－CONVENTIONAL RESPONSES FOR DIRECTFORCE CONTROL AIRCRAFT

The object of this paper is to analyze the coupling sensitivity ofunconventional responses of direct force control (DFC) aircraft with the closed-loopsystem dynamics and the aiming error dynamics, further, to venfy the analytical resultsthrough numerical examples, and finally to obtain some important conclusions on thecoupling sensitivity, which can be referred to the system design and flying quality ratingfor DFC aircraft.

Adaptive control of anti-aircraft missile launcher mounted on a mobile base

This paper presents the problem of control of anti-aircraft missile launcher mounted on a moving carrier-vehicle. Direct excitations on the vehicle from the road cause adverse vibrations of the launcher. In order to increase the precision of the guiding system in the conditions of self-propelled movement of the setup on a bumpy road, the adaptive control algorithm was proposed. Some research results of computer simulation are presented in a graphical form.

A Novel Robust Attitude Control for Quadrotor Aircraft Subject to Actuator Faults and Wind Gusts

A novel robust fault tolerant controller is developed for the problem of attitude control of a quadrotor aircraft in the presence of actuator faults and wind gusts in this paper.Firstly, a dynamical system of the quadrotor taking into account aerodynamical effects induced by lateral wind and actuator faults is considered using the Newton-Euler approach. Then,based on active disturbance rejection control(ADRC), the fault tolerant controller is proposed to recover faulty system and reject perturbations. The developed controller takes wind gusts,actuator faults and measurement noises as total perturbations which are estimated by improved extended state observer(ESO)and compensated by nonlinear feedback control law. So, the developed robust fault tolerant controller can successfully accomplish the tracking of the desired output values. Finally, some simulation studies are given to illustrate the effectiveness of fault recovery of the proposed scheme and also its ability to attenuate external disturbances that are introduced from environmental causes such as wind gusts and measurement noises.

Application of wireless sensor networks to aircraft control and health management systems

Use of fly-by-wire technology for aircraft flight controls have resulted in an improved performance and reliability along with achieving reduction in control system weight. Implementation of full authority digital engine control has also resulted in more intelligent, reliable, light-weight aircraft engine control systems. Greater reduction in weight can be achieved by replacing the wire harness with a wireless communication network. The first step towards fly-by-wireless control systems is likely to be the introduction of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). WSNs are already finding a variety of applications for both safety-critical and nonsafety critical distributed systems. Some of the many potential benefits of using WSN for aircraft systems include weight reduction, ease of maintenance and an increased monitoring capability. This paper discusses the application of WSN for several aircraft systems such as distributed aircraft engine control, aircraft flight control, aircraft engine and structural health monitoring systems. A brief description of each system is presented along with a discussion on the technological challenges. Future research directions for application of WSN in aircraft systems are also discussed.

Dynamic Simulation of the Aircraft Environmental Control System

The dynamic research of aircraft environmental control system (ECS) is an important step in the advanced ECS design process. Based on the thermodynamics theory, mathematical models for the dynamic performance simulating of aircraft ECS were set up and an ECS simulation toolbox (ECS_1.0) was created with MATLAB language. It consists of main component modules (ducts, valves, heat exchangers, compressor, turbine, etc.). An aircraft environmental control system computer model was developed to assist engineers with the design and development of ECS dynamic optimization. An example simulating an existing ECS was given which shows the satisfactory effects.

Temporal Prediction of Aircraft Loss-of-Control: A Dynamic Optimization Approach

Loss of Control (LOC) is the primary factor responsible for the majority of fatal air accidents during past decade. LOC is characterized by the pilot’s inability to control the aircraft and is typically associated with unpredictable behavior, potentially leading to loss of the aircraft and life. In this work, the minimum time dynamic optimization problem to LOC is treated using Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle (PMP). The resulting two point boundary value problem is solved using stochastic shooting point methods via a differential evolution scheme (DE). The minimum time until LOC metric is computed for corresponding spatial control limits. Simulations are performed using a linearized longitudinal aircraft model to illustrate the concept.

飞翼布局飞行器研究现状分析

对飞翼布局飞行器的发展脉络进行了梳理,涵盖了从其早期的进化史到现阶段的研究进展,并对未来的发展方向进行了思考和展望。同时,论述了飞翼布局飞行器的几个主要控制难点,具体包括:宽速域非线性状态下的姿态控制问题、多效应耦合下的高精度自主起降控制问题、气动模型近似及强扰动状态下的鲁棒控制难题,以及因多舵面冗余而引起的控制分配问题。此外,还深入讨论了当前重点研究的飞翼布局飞行器的流动控制问题,并对接下来主动流动控制技术的研究动向进行了阐述。