Work

Modeling and Transition Flight Control of Distributed Propulsion–Wing VTOL UAV with Induced Wing Configuration

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The integrated design of propulsion and wing in distributed-propulsion-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (DPW UAVs) engenders significant propulsion-aerodynamic coupling characteristics, which present challenges for aircraft dynamic modeling. Moreover, the utilization of induced wing surfaces for achieving vertical take-off and landing further complicates matters by introducing thrust deflection. Consequently, the flight controller not only needs to adapt to control characteristic variations stemming from configuration adjustments but also exhibit robustness to effectively handle disturbances during transition flight.This paper establishes a propulsion-aerodynamic coupling model based on comprehensive theoretical models and engineering assumptions of distributed-propulsion-wing with induced wing (DPW-IW) configuration, enabling real-time calculation of the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle within the entire flight envelope.Furthermore, a unified flight control framework is proposed to avoid controller scheduling and switching during flight mode transitions. The proposed control framework employs the time-scale separation principle, dividing into an outer loop and an inner loop. The outer loop utilizes fuzzy controller to dynamically adjust allocation parameters, while the inner loop combines the incremental nonlinear dynamic inverse (INDI) control method and the incremental nonlinear control allocation (INCA) method, providing the controller with strong robustness and enabling capturing of nonlinear changes in aircraft manipulation efficiency during the transition flight. Finally, through digital simulation, different control methods are compared under various conditions such as no disturbance, presence of parameter perturbation, and propulsion fault. The results demonstrate that the designed controller effectively follows transition commands, showing robustness against aircraft characteristic changes and environmental disturbances, thus ensuring smooth transition flight.

Source: Aerospace

DOI: 10.3390/aerospace11110922

Authors: Qingfeng Zhao, Zhou Zhou, Rui Wang

Institutions: Northwestern Polytechnical University, San Francisco Bay University

Language: English

Topic: Aerospace and Aviation Technology

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,728