Intelligent feedforward gust alleviation based on neural network

This paper proposes a neural network-based intelligent feedforward gust alleviation framework,which includes a neural network identification model and a neural network controller.A neural network training dataset is formed by collecting flight data and the gust data encountered during the aircraft flight.A neural network identification model is first trained to accurately predict the aircraft’s output.Then,based on the output of the identification model and the collected flight data,the parameters of the time-delay neural network controller are obtained through a learning process.The simulation results show that the designed intelligent controller has good gust alleviation effects for both continuous turbulence excitation and discrete gust excitation.For example,when the aircraft is 40000 kg and the flight speed is 0.81Ma,the controller achieves a 67.82%reduction in wingtip acceleration and a 35.90%reduction in center of mass acceleration under continuous turbulence excitation.When considering the measurement uncertainties,such as noise existing in the collected data,the trained controller can still achieve an acceptable gust alleviation effect.Finally,considering a flight in which the aircraft mass is constantly changing,the intelligent controller,which continuously learns from new flight data,maintains a good gust alleviation effect throughout the flight.

A reduced-order-model-based multiple-in multiple-out gust alleviation control law design method in transonic flow

Gust alleviation is very important to a large flexible aircraft.A nonlinear low-order aerodynamic state space model is required to model the nonlinear aeroelastic responses due to gust.Based on the proper orthogonal decomposition method,a reduced order modeling of gust loads was proposed.And then the open-loop and closed-loop reduced order state space model for the transonic aeroelastic system was developed.The static output feed back control scheme was used to design a simple multiple-in multiple-out(MIMO)gust alleviation control law.The control law was demonstrated with the Goland+wing model with four control surfaces.The simulation results of different discrete gusts show the capability and good performance of the designed MIMO controller in transonic gust alleviation.

Theoretical and Experimental Study of Gust Response Alleviation Using Neuro-fuzzy Control Law for a Flexible Wing Model

Two kinds of neuro-fuzzy gust response alleviation control laws are designed for a flexible large-aspect-ratio wing model. Simulations and comparisons of random gust alleviation using the two control laws are performed. Based on the better neuro-fuzzy control law,experiments and simulations of sinusoidal gust alleviation using one-control-surface control system and two-control-surface control system are developed. The investigations show that the two kinds of neuro-fuzzy gust response alleviation control laws can alleviate random gust responses effectively. The neuro-fuzzy gust response alleviation control law including a modifying factor is better than the other one without it. Further,the better one has good effects on the sinusoidal gust alleviation at different frequencies and flow velocities. The two-control-surface control system has better effects on gust response alleviation than the one-control-surface control system when the gust is strong. The simulation results agree well with the experimental results. These results can be usefully referenced to the design of actual gust alleviation control systems.

Application of Active Flow Control Technique for Gust Load Alleviation

A new gust load alleviation technique is presented in this paper based on active flow control. Numerical studies are conducted to investigate the beneficial effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of the quasi ＂Global Hawk＂ airfoil using arrays of jets during the gust process. Based on unsteady Navier-Stokes equations, the grid-velocity method is introduced to simulate the gust influence, and dynamic response in vertical gust flow perturbation is investigated for the airfoil as well. An unsteady surface transpiration boundary condition is enforced over a user specified portion of the airfoil’s surface to emulate the time dependent velocity boundary conditions. Firstly, after applying this method to simulate typical NACA0006 airfoil gust response to a step change in the angle of attack, it shows that the indicial responses of the airfoil make good agreement with the exact theoretical values and the calculated values in references. Furthermore, gust response characteristic for the quasi ＂Global Hawk＂ airfoil is analyzed. Five kinds of flow control techniques are introduced as steady blowing, steady suction, unsteady blowing, unsteady suction and synthetic jets. The physical analysis of the influence on the effects of gust load alleviation is proposed to provide some guidelines for practice. Numerical results have indicated that active flow control technique,as a new technology of gust load alleviation, can affect and suppress the fluid disturbances caused by gust so as to achieve the purpose of gust load alleviation.

Gust response modeling and alleviation scheme design for an elastic aircraft

Time-domain approaches are presented for analysis of the dynamic response of aeroservoelastic systems to atmospheric gust excitations. The continuous and discrete gust inputs are defined in the time domain. The time-domain approach to continuous gust response uses a state-space formulation that requires the frequency-dependent aerodynamic coefficients to be approximated with the rational function of a Laplace variable. A hybrid method which combines the Fourier transform and time-domain approaches is used to calculate discrete gust response. The purpose of this approach is to obtain a time-domain state-space model without using rational function approximation of the gust columns. Three control schemes are designed for gust alleviation on an elastic aircraft, and three control surfaces are used: aileron, elevator and spoiler. The signals from the rate of pitch angle gyroscope or angle of attack sensor are sent to the elevator while the signals from accelerometers at the wing tip and center of gravity of the aircraft are sent to the aileron and spoiler, respectively. All the control laws are based on classical control theory. The results show that acceleration at the center of gravity of the aircraft and bending-moment at the wing-root section are mainly excited by rigid modes of the aircraft and the accelerations at the wing-tip are mainly excited by elastic modes of the aircraft. All the three control schemes can be used to alleviate the wing-root moments and the accelerations. The gust response can be alleviated using control scheme 3, in which the spoiler is used as a control surface, but the effects are not as good as those of control schemes 1 and 2.

Gust load alleviation wind tunnel tests of a large-aspect-ratio flexible wing with piezoelectric control

An active control technique utilizing piezoelectric actuators to alleviate gust-response loads of a large-aspect-ratio flexible wing is investigated. Piezoelectric materials have been extensively used for active vibration control of engineering structures. In this paper, piezoelectric materials further attempt to suppress the vibration of the aeroelastic wing caused by gust. The motion equation of the flexible wing with piezoelectric patches is obtained by Hamilton＇s principle with the modal approach, and then numerical gust responses are analyzed, based on which a gust load alleviation（GLA） control system is proposed. The gust load alleviation system employs classic propor tional-integral-derivative（PID） controllers which treat piezoelectric patches as control actuators and acceleration as the feedback signal. By a numerical method, the control mechanism that piezoelectric actuators can be used to alleviate gust-response loads is also analyzed qualitatively. Furthermore, through low-speed wind tunnel tests, the effectiveness of the gust load alleviation active control technology is validated. The test results agree well with the numerical results. Test results show that at a certain frequency range, the control scheme can effectively alleviate the z and x wingtip accelerations and the root bending moment of the wing to a certain extent. The control system gives satisfying gust load alleviation efficacy with the reduction rate being generally over 20%.

Aeroelastic scaling laws for gust load alleviation control system

Gust load alleviation （GLA） tests are widely conducted to study the effectiveness of the control laws and methods. The physical parameters of models in these tests are aeroelastic scaled, while the scaling of GLA control system is always unreached. This paper concentrates on studying the scaling laws of GLA control system. Through theoretical demonstration, the scaling criterion of a classical PID control system has been come up and a scaling methodology is provided and veri- fied. By adopting the scaling laws in this paper, gust response of the scaled model could be directly related to the full-scale aircraft theoretically under both open-loop and closed-loop conditions. Also, the influences of different scaling choices of an important non-dimensional parameter, the Froude number, have been studied in this paper. Furthermore for practical application, a compen- sating method is given when the theoretical scaled actuators or sensors cannot be obtained. Also, the scaling laws of some non-linear elements in control system such as the rate and amplitude sat- urations in actuator have been studied and examined by a numerical simulation.

Mixed H_2/H_∞ Control Using a Fuzzy Singularly Perturbed Model with Multiple Perturbation Parameters for Gust Load Alleviation

This paper presents a mixed H21H∞ control using fuzzy singularly perturbed model （FSPM） with multiple perturbation parameters. Since FSPM with multiple perturbation parameters is an extension of models with a single perturbation parameter, the theoretical results are applicable to a larger class of systems described by multiple time scale nonlinear models, such as flying aircraft and flexible space robots. The parameter-independent solution of the mixed H21H∞ controller was obtained in the form of linear matrix inequalities （LMIs）. The application of this approach to gust load alleviation of a flying vehicle verifies its effectiveness and flexibility.

Aeroelastic dynamic response of elastic aircraft with consideration of two-dimensional discrete gust excitation

Design loads generally require a one-dimensional discrete gust profile without consideration of the spanwise effect,and this profile cannot represent the true gust field exactly.For a high aspect ratio aircraft,two-dimensional gusts may cause critical load conditions,and approaches for calculating dynamic responses under two-dimensional discrete gust excitation are rarely presented.In this paper,a spanwise non-uniform vertical discrete gust field is established based on a onedimensional‘1-cos’gust profile in reference to a DARPA proposal,while frequency and hybrid approaches to the dynamic response analysis of flexible aircraft under this two-dimensional gust excitation are presented.Solution techniques have been applied to a high aspect ratio aircraft to assess the different response characteristics with a comparison between one-dimensional and two-dimensional discrete gust field conditions.The results show that the two-dimensional discrete gust model produces a higher bending moment than that of the one-dimensional condition.Therefore,the critical load conditions that are derived from the two-dimensional discrete gust for high aspect ratio aircraft should be seriously considered.According to the analysis,an active control scheme to alleviate the bending loads caused by the two-dimensional gust is designed,and alleviation effects in different gust conditions are compared.