Flight dynamics characteristics of canard rotor/wing aircraft in helicopter flight mode

The aerodynamic layout of the Canard Rotor/Wing(CRW) aircraft in helicopter flight mode differs significantly from that of conventional helicopters. In order to study the flight dynamics characteristics of CRW aircraft in helicopter mode, first, the aerodynamic model of the main rotor system is established based on the blade element theory and wind tunnel test results. The aerodynamic forces and moments of the canard wing, horizontal tail, vertical tail and fuselage are obtained via theoretical analysis and empirical formula. The flight dynamics model of the CRW aircraft in helicopter mode is developed and validated by flight test data. Next, a method of model trimming using an optimization algorithm is proposed. The flight dynamics characteristics of the CRW are investigated by the method of linearized small perturbations via Simulink. The trim results are consistent with the conventional helicopter characteristics, and the results show that with increasing forward flight speed, the canard wing and horizontal tail can provide considerable lift,which reflects the unique characteristics of the CRW aircraft. Finally, mode analysis is implemented for the linearized CRW in helicopter mode. The results demonstrate that the stability of majority modes increases with increasing flight speed. However, one mode that diverges monotonously,and the reason is that the CRW helicopter mode has a large vertical tail compared to the conventional helicopter. The results of the dynamic analysis provide optimization guidance and reference for the overall design of the CRW aircraft in helicopter mode, and the model developed can be used for control system design.

Investigation on flight load calibration of aircraft composite wing base on strain gauge measurement

A computational and test method for calibrating the flight loads carried by aircraft wings is proposed.The wing load is measured in real-time based on the resistance and fiber Bragg grating strain gauges.The linear stepwise regression method is used to construct the load equations.The mean impact value algorithm is employed to select suitable bridges.In the ground calibration experiment,the wing load calculation equations in both forward and reverse installation states are calibrated.The correctness of the load equations was verified through equation error and inspection error analysis.Finally,the actual flight load of the wing was obtained through flight tests.

Analysis and Research on Aerodynamic Characteristics of Quad Tilt Rotor Aircraft

For the quad tilt rotor aircraft, a computational fluid dynamics method based on multiple reference frames (MRF) was used to analyze the influence of aerodynamic layout parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics of the quad tilt rotor aircraft. Firstly, a numerical simulation method for the interference flow field of the quad tilt rotor aircraft is established. Based on this method, the aerodynamic characteristics of isolated rotors, rotor combinations at different lateral positions on the wing, and rotor rotation directions under different inflow velocities were calculated and analyzed, in order to grasp their aerodynamic interference laws and provide reference for the design and control theory research of such aircraft.

Research on a combinatorial control method for coaxial rotor aircraft based on sliding mode

Aiming at the position and attitude tracking of coaxial rotor aircraft(CRA),this paper proposes a combinatorial control method of sliding mode control(SMC)coupled with proportional-integralderivative control(PIDC).Considering the complete description of flight dynamics,aerodynamics and airflow interference,the dynamical model of CRA is established.The dynamical model is simplified according to the actual flight,then the simplified dynamical model is divided into two subsystems:a fully-actuated subsystem and an under-actuated subsystem.The controller of the fully-actuated subsystem consists of a SMC controller coupled with a rate bounded PIDC controller,while the controller of the under-actuated subsystem is composed of a SMC controller.The sliding manifold is defined by combining the position and velocity tracking errors of the state variables for each subsystem.Lyapunov stability theory is used to verify the stability of the sliding mode controller,which ensures that all state trajectories of the system can reach and stay on the sliding mode surface,the uncertainty and external interference of the model are compensated.Simulation and experiment compared with the conventional PIDC are carried out,the results demonstrate the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed control method of this paper.

Adaptive Kalman Filter of Transfer Alignment with Un-modeled Wing Flexure of Aircraft

The alignment accuracy of the strap-down inertial navigation system （SINS） of airborne weapon is greatly degraded by the dynamic wing flexure of the aircraft. An adaptive Kalman filter uses innovation sequences based on the maximum likelihood estimated criterion to adapt the system noise covariance matrix and the measurement noise covariance matrix on line, which is used to estimate the misalignment if the model of wing flexure of the aircraft is unknown. From a number of simulations, it is shown that the accuracy of the adaptive Kalman filter is better than the conventional Kalman filter, and the erroneous misalignment models of the wing flexure of aircraft will cause bad estimation results of Kalman filter using attitude match method.

Investigation of Nonlinear PI Multi-loop Control Strategy for Aircraft HVDC Generator System with Wound Rotor Synchronous Machine

In order to enhance the transient performance of aircraft high voltage DC(HVDC)generation system with wound rotor synchronous machine(WRSM)under a wide speed range,the nonlinear PI multi-loop control strategy is proposed in this paper.Traditional voltage control method is hard to achieve the dynamic performance requirements of the HVDC generation system under a wide speed range,so the nonlinear PI parameter adjustment,load current feedback and speed feedback are added to the voltage and excitation current double loop control.The transfer function of the HVDC generation system is derived,and the relationship between speed,load current and PI parameters is obtained.The PI parameters corresponding to the load at certain speed are used to shorten the adjusting time when the load suddenly changes.The dynamic responses in transient processes are analyzed by experiment.The results illustrate that the WRSM HVDC generator system with this method has better dynamic performance.

Global optimization for ducted coaxial-rotors aircraft based on Kriging model and improved particle swarm optimization algorithm

To improve the operational efficiency of global optimization in engineering, Kriging model was established to simplify the mathematical model for calculations. Ducted coaxial-rotors aircraft was taken as an example and Fluent software was applied to the virtual prototype simulations. Through simulation sample points, the total lift of the ducted coaxial-rotors aircraft was obtained. The Kriging model was then constructed, and the function was fitted. Improved particle swarm optimization(PSO) was also utilized for the global optimization of the Kriging model of the ducted coaxial-rotors aircraft for the determination of optimized global coordinates. Finally, the optimized results were simulated by Fluent. The results show that the Kriging model and the improved PSO algorithm significantly improve the lift performance of ducted coaxial-rotors aircraft and computer operational efficiency.

OPTIMAL DESIGN AND AERODYNAMIC CALCULATION OF WING CONFIGURATION OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT

An effective method of optimal design of wing configuration is provided. The SUMT (sequential unconstained minimization technique) method is a good technique for solving the nonlinear programming. The application of penalty in optimal design of wing configuration has been solved well. The present method for the aerodynamic calculation is the combination of both the nonlinear panel method and the suction analogy method of vortexlift spanwise distribution on large swept wing-tip. The calculation results are in good agreement with experimental data. According to the computation and experiment,the mechanism of the increased lift and reduced drag about the sheared wing-tip wing has been analyzed, and some opinions of interest are proposed.

NONLINEAR DYNAMICS OF A CRACKED ROTOR IN A MANEUVERING AIRCRAFT

The nonlinear dynamics of a cracked rotor system in an aircraft maneuvering with constant velocity or acceleration was investigated. The influence of the aircraft climbing angle on the cracked rotor system response is of particular interest and the results show that the climbing angle can markedly affect the parameter range for bifurcation, for quasi-periodic response and for chaotic response as well as for system stability. Aircraft acceleration is also shown to significantly affect the nonlinear behavior of the cracked rotor system, illustrating the possibility for on-line rotor crack fault diagnosis.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF THE CONFIGURATION OF WING－TIP DRAG REDUCTION FOR LIGHT AIRCRAFT

hree kinds of devices of drag reduction are presented swept wingtip,stage by stage swept wingtip and downbend wingtip. The effects of changing geometryparameters of the swept wingtip on the drag reducing are also presented. Wind-tunnelexperiment results indicate that a properly designed swept wingtip results in an incre-ment in induced efficiency of 4%～ 7% and that swept wingtip can increase longitudinalstatic-stability. Water-tunnel experiment results indicate that the reason for drag re-ducing of swept wingtip is that when the angle of attack is not zero, the strong end vor-tex of the wing is weakened by the combined effect of the leading edge and trailing edgevortices of the swept wingtip.

Parametric CAD Modelling of Aircraft Wings for FEA Vibration Analysis

Excessive vibration of aircraft wings during flight is harmful and may cause propagation of existing cracks in the material, leading to catastrophic failures as a result of material fatigue. This study investigates the variations of modal characteristics of aircraft wings with respect to changes in the structural configurations. We develop parametric Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models to capture new design intend on the aircraft wing architectures. Subsequent Finite Element Analysis (FEA) based vibration analysis is performed to study the effects of architecture changes on the wing’s natural frequencies and mode shapes. It is concluded that the spar placement and the number of ribs have significant influence on the wing’s natural vibration properties. Integrating CAD modelling and FEA vibration analysis enables designers to develop alternative wing architectures to implement design requirements in the preliminary design stage.

RESEARCH ON SCHEME OF HIGH-SPEED ROTOR／WING TRANSITION HELICOPTER RD15

To analyze the existing schemes of high-speed rotorcrafts and some new technologies, a new conceptual sketch of the high-speed rotor/wing transition helicopter RD15 is proposed. The overall layout of the RD15 is given out and the transition process from the helicopter mode to the airplane mode is designed. The lift system consists of a circular disk-wing with four retractable blades. The technology of individual blade control is adopted for flight control in hover and low speed flight. The tail is a vectored thrust duct propeller. It can provide the anti-torque in hover, and offer the multi-directional controls and propulsion drive for the airplane mode flight. The aerodynamic characteristics and key technologies in the transition process for this layout, including the nose up angle of disk-wing, the length of the blade, rotation speed, pitch angle and other parameters, are theoretically ana lyzed and experimentally tested. Calculation and experiments show that the shift process of the lift, the power and controls are smooth, and the designed scheme is feasible.

Conceptual Design and Aerodynamic Study of Joined-Wing Business Jet Aircraft

The concept of joined-wing aircraft with nonplanar wings as conceived and patented by Wolkovitch is attractive due to various advantages such as light weight, high stiffness, low induced drag, high trimmed CLmax, reduced wetted area and parasite drag and good stability and control, which have been supported by independent analyses, design studies and wind tunnel tests. With such foreseen advantages, the present work is carried out to design joined-wing business-jet aircraft and study and investigate its advantages and benefits as compared to the current available conventional business jet of similar size, passenger and payload capacity. In particular, the work searches for a conceptual design of joined-wing configured business-jet aircraft that possesses more superior characteristics and better aerodynamic performance in terms of increased lift and reduced drag, and lighter than the conventional business jet of similar size. Another significant objective of this work is to prove that the added rigidity possessed by the joined wing configuration can contribute to weight reduction.

Decomposition of Mathematical Programming Models for Aircraft Wing Design Facilitating the Use of Dynamic Programming Approach

Aircraft designers strive to achieve optimal weight-reliability tradeoffs while designing an aircraft. Since aircraft wing skins account for more than fifty percent of their structural weight, aircraft wings must be designed with utmost care and attention in terms of material types and thickness configurations. In particular, the selection of thickness at each location of the aircraft wing skin is the most consequential task for aircraft designers. To accomplish this, we present discrete mathematical programming models to obtain optimal thicknesses either to minimize weight or to maximize reliability. We present theoretical results for the decomposition of these discrete mathematical programming models to reduce computer memory requirements and facilitate the use of dynamic programming for design purposes. In particular, a decomposed version of the weight minimization problem is solved for an aircraft wing with thirty locations (or panels) and fourteen thickness choices for each location to yield an optimal minimum weight design.

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.

A Dynamic Programming Approach to the Design of Composite Aircraft Wings

A light and reliable aircraft has been the major goal of aircraft designers. It is imperative to design the aircraft wing skins as efficiently as possible since the wing skins comprise more than fifty percent of the structural weight of the aircraft wing. The aircraft wing skin consists of many different types of material and thickness configurations at various locations. Selecting a thickness for each location is perhaps the most significant design task. In this paper, we formulate discrete mathematical programming models to determine the optimal thicknesses for three different criteria: maximize reliability, minimize weight, and achieve a trade-off between maximizing reliability and minimizing weight. These three model formulations are generalized discrete resource-allocation problems, which lend themselves well to the dynamic programming approach. Consequently, we use the dynamic programming method to solve these model formulations. To illustrate our approach, an example is solved in which dynamic programming yields a minimum weight design as well as a trade-off curve for weight versus reliability for an aircraft wing with thirty locations (or panels) and fourteen thickness choices for each location.

Structural Design and Analysis of Small Flapping Wing Aircraft Based on the Crank Slider Mechanism

In this project,the miniaturization of the aircraft was realized under the premise of strong maneuverability,high concealability,and driving a certain load,and the flight mode and structural characteristics of birds were imitated.A small bionic flapping wing aircraft was built.The flapping of the wing was realized by the crank slider mechanism,and the sizes of each part were calculated according to the bionics formula.The wingspan was 360.37 mm,the body width was 22 mm,the body length was 300 mm,the wing area was 0.05 m^(2),the flapping amplitude was 71°.ADAMS software was used to simulate the dynamics of the designed aircraft,and the variation of flapping amplitude and angular velocity during the movement of the aircraft was obtained,which verified the feasibility of the mechanism.The prototype aircraft was made for flight test,and the designed bionic flapping wing aircraft achieved the expected effect.It provides a theoretical basis and data support for the design and manufacture of small flapping wing aircraft.

Retarded Harrier Maneuver as a New and Efficient Approach for Fixed-Wing Aircraft to Achieve S/VTOL

Modern day VTOL fixed-wing aircraft based on quadplane design is relatively simple and reliable due to lack of complex mechanical components compared to tilt-wings or tilt-rotors in the pre-80’s era. Radio-controlled aerobatic airplanes have thrust-to-weight ratio of greater than unity and are capable of performing a range of impressive maneuvers including the so-called harrier maneuver. We hereby present a new maneuver known as the retarded harrier that is applicable to un/manned fixed-wing aircraft for achieving VTOL flight with a better forward flight performance than a quadplane in terms of weight, speed and esthetics. An airplane with tandem roto-stabilizers is also presented as an efficient airframe to achieve VTOL via retarded harrier maneuver, and detailed analysis is given for hovering at 45° and 60° and comparison is made against the widely adopted quadplane. This work also includes experimental demonstration of retarded harrier maneuver using a small remotely pilot airplane of wingspan 650 mm.

Hex-Rotor无人飞行器及其飞行控制系统设计

提出了一种Hex-Rotor无人飞行器以克服现有多旋翼飞行器的欠驱动和强耦合特性对其飞行控制效果的影响,利用6个旋翼独特的结构配置来保证飞行器独立控制空间六自由度的能力。介绍了这种新型飞行器的结构特点并建立其动力学模型,引入滤波反步法与自抗扰算法设计了具有双环并行结构的飞行控制系统,在数字仿真中实现了飞行器的空间六自由度独立控制并克服了未知外部扰动以及模型不确定性带来的影响。结果显示,原型机试飞实验中,飞行器的水平位移跟踪误差不超过±4m,高度误差不超过±3m,姿态角误差不超过±0.05rad,均保持在传感器的测量误差范围内,飞行器较为准确地跟踪了期望指令。仿真和实验结果证明了该新型Hex-Rotor飞行器具有期望的六自由度独立控制能力,建立的数学模型准确,设计的飞行控制系统能够实现轨迹与姿态跟踪飞行。

AN IMPROVED MODEL OF CURVED VORTEX ELEMENT FOR ROTOR WAKE ANALYSIS

This paper describes an improved model of curved vortex element on the circular arc (CVEC) for rotor wake analysis.As the key of the paper,two approximate formulas are derived by the series of limited terms to replace the Legendre incomplete elliptical integrals from the Biot-Savart integration,and the analytical solution of the induced velocity for the CVEC is obtained, which is more efficient in the complex rotor free wake calculation. Furthermore,the approximate formulas with the chosen factors are selected to avoid sigularity and give finite result of the induced velocity on the Vortex line,and an equivalent viscous vortex core radius might be evaluated.As examples, the induced velocity calculations on the vortex ring and two turns of a skew vortex helix are performed, and the comparisons between the circular-arc vortex element and the conventional straightline vortex element (SLVE) are given.It is shown that this curved vortex element model is advantageous over the SLVE model and is suitable for the rotor wake analysis.