Impact of actuators backlash on the helicopter control during landing on the moving vessel deck

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Topczewski ◽  
Marcin Żugaj ◽  
Przemyslaw Bibik

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the performance of the control system developed for the helicopter automatic approach and landing on the moving vessel deck, when different values of backlashes are applied to the four control actuators. Design/methodology/approach The system consists of automatic control algorithm based on the linear quadratic regulator and the vessel motion prediction algorithm based on autoregressive method with parameters calculated using Burg’s method. Necessary navigation data is provided by on-board inertial navigation system/Global Positioning System. Calculated control commands are executed by four electromechanical actuators. Performance of the mission, which is based on selected procedure of approach and landing of the helicopter on the moving vessel deck, is analyzed taking into account different values of backlashes applied to the actuators. Findings In this paper, a description of the control system dedicated for automatic approach and landing of the helicopter on the moving vessel deck is shown. Necessary information about helicopter dynamic model, control system and vessel motion model is included. Tests showing influence of actuator backlashes on the mission performance are presented. Practical implications The developed control methodology can be adapted for selected helicopter and used in prospective development of an automatic flight control system (AFCS) or in a simulator. The system can be used to define in which conditions helicopter can perform safe and successful automatic approach and landing on a moving vessel deck. Originality/value In this paper, an integrated control system is presented; influence of the control actuator backlashes on the mission performance is analyzed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 880-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoni Kopyt ◽  
Sebastian Topczewski ◽  
Marcin Zugaj ◽  
Przemyslaw Bibik

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate and develop an automatic system for automatic flight control system (AFCS) performance evaluation. Consequently, the developed AFCS algorithm is implemented and tested in a virtual environment on one of the mission task elements (MTEs) described in Aeronautical Design Standard 33 (ADS-33) performance specification. Design/methodology/approach Control algorithm is based on the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) which is adopted to work as a controller in this case. Developed controller allows for automatic flight of the helicopter via desired three-dimensional trajectory by calculating iteratively deviations between desired and actual helicopter position and multiplying it by gains obtained from the LQR methodology. For the AFCS algorithm validation, the objective data analysis is done based on specified task accomplishment requirements, reference trajectory and actual flight parameters. Findings In the paper, a description of an automatic flight control algorithm for small helicopter and its evaluation methodology is presented. Necessary information about helicopter dynamic model is included. The test and algorithm analysis are performed on a slalom maneuver, on which the handling qualities are calculated. Practical implications Developed automatic flight control algorithm can be adapted and used in autopilot for a small helicopter. Methodology of evaluation of an AFCS performance can be used in different applications and cases. Originality/value In the paper, an automatic flight control algorithm for small helicopter and solution for the validation of developed AFCS algorithms are presented.


Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Zaibin Chen ◽  
Hongguang Jia

This paper presents the control system design process of a novel tilt-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (TRUAV). First, a new configuration scheme with the tilting rotors is designed. Then, the detailed nonlinear mathematical model is established, and the parameters are acquired from designed experiments and numerical analyses. For control design purposes, the dynamics equation is linearized around the hovering equilibrium point, and a control allocation method based on trim calculation is developed. To deal with the actuator saturation and uncertain disturbance problems for the novel TRUAV, an improved flight control law based on the combination of the robust servo linear quadratic regulator (RSLQR) optimal control and the extended state observer (ESO) is proposed. The designed flight control law has a simple structure with a high reliability in engineering. Simulations and hovering flight tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the mathematical model and the proposed control strategy.


2020 ◽  
pp. 136943322096372
Author(s):  
Osman Akyürek ◽  
Nakin Suksawang

To improve the safety and security of the structures with irregular plan configuration, the new torsionally effective passive control system (ICS) was first proposed by the author, which utilizes a new design configuration to dissipate the unwanted energy from the structures in the lateral and torsional directions. In this research, a new active structural control approach, which is the active form of the ICS (or active integrated control system, AICS), is introduced as an alternative active control system, especially for the buildings with torsional sensitivity. In the design of active system configurations, two actuators driven by the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) are implemented and used to apply the optimum control forces to the ATMDs and AICS. For examining the performance of the proposed system configuration, the final design is applied to the 9-story Benchmark steel structure subjected to bidirectional three historical earthquakes. The obtained results show the overall performance of structural performance by using the AICS is substantially improved as compared to conventional ones (ATMDs) under selected ground accelerations with a 3% to 6% improvement in the lateral directions and by nearly 20% in the torsional direction in terms of the peak and root mean square response reduction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (21-22) ◽  
pp. 2037-2049
Author(s):  
Xiao Yan ◽  
Zhao-Dong Xu ◽  
Qing-Xuan Shi

Asymmetric structures experience torsional effects when subjected to seismic excitation. The resulting rotation will further aggravate the damage of the structure. A mathematical model is developed to study the translation and rotation response of the structure during seismic excitation. The motion equations of the structures which cover the translation and rotation are obtained by the theoretical derivations and calculations. Through the simulated computation, the translation and rotation response of the structure with the uncontrolled system, the tuned mass damper control system, and active tuned mass damper control system using linear quadratic regulator algorithm are compared to verify the effectiveness of the proposed active control system. In addition, the linear quadratic regulator and fuzzy neural network algorithm are used to the active tuned mass damper control system as a contrast group to study the response of the structure with different active control method. It can be concluded that the structure response has a significant reduction by using active tuned mass damper control system. Furthermore, it can be also found that fuzzy neural network algorithm can replace the linear quadratic regulator algorithm in an active control system. Because fuzzy neural network algorithm can control the process on an uncertain mathematical model, it has more potential in practical applications than the linear quadratic regulator control method.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain G. de Souza ◽  
Luiz C. G. de Souza

The design of the spacecraft Attitude Control System (ACS) becomes more complex when the spacecraft has different type of components like, flexible solar panels, antennas, mechanical manipulators and tanks with fuel. The interaction between the fuel slosh motion, the panel’s flexible motion and the satellite rigid motion during translational and/or rotational manoeuvre can change the spacecraft center of mass position damaging the ACS pointing accuracy. This type of problem can be considered as a Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) where some movable or deformable structure interacts with an internal fluid. This paper develops a mathematical model for a rigid-flexible satellite with tank with fuel. The slosh dynamics is modelled using a common pendulum model and it is considered to be unactuated. The control inputs are defined by a transverse body fixed force and a moment about the centre of mass. A comparative investigation designing the satellite ACS by the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) methods is done. One has obtained a significant improvement in the satellite ACS performance and robustness of what has been done previously, since it controls the rigid-flexible satellite and the fuel slosh motion, simultaneously.


2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 858-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Taimoor ◽  
Li Aijun ◽  
Rooh ul Amin ◽  
Hongshi Lu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to design linear quadratic regulator (LQR) based Luenberger observer for the estimation of unknown states of aircraft. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the LQR-based Luenberger observer is deliberated for autonomous level flight of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which has been attained productively. Various modes like phugoid and roll modes are exploited for controlling the rates of UAV. The Luenberger observer is exploited for estimation of the mysterious states of the system. The rates of roll, yaw and pitch are used as an input to the observer, while the remaining states such as velocities and angles have been anticipated. The main advantage of using Luenberger observer was to reduce the cost of the system which has been achieved lucratively. The Luenberger observer proposes sturdiness at the rate of completion to conquest over the turmoil and insecurities to overcome the privileged recital. The FlightGear simulator is exploited for the endorsement of the recital of the Luenberger observer-based autopilot. The level flight has been subjugated lucratively and has been legitimated by exploiting the FlightGear simulator. The authenticated and the validated results are offered in this paper. Microsoft Visual Studio has been engaged as a medium between the MATLAB and FlightGear Simulator. Findings The suggested observer based on LQR ensures the lucrative approximation of the unknown states of the system as well as the successful level flight of the system. The Luenberger observer is used for approximation of states while LQR is used as controller. Originality/value In this research work, not only the estimation of unknown states of both longitudinal and lateral model is made but also the level flight is achieved by using those estimated states and the autopilot is validated by using the FlightGear, while in most of the research work only the estimation is made of only longitudinal or lateral model.


Author(s):  
Trong-Thang Nguyen

<span>This research aims to propose an optimal controller for controlling the speed of the Direct Current (DC) motor. Based on the mathematical equations of DC Motor, the author builds the equations of the state space model and builds the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller to minimize the error between the set speed and the response speed of DC motor. The results of the proposed controller are compared with the traditional controllers as the PID, the feed-forward controller. The simulation results show that the quality of the control system in the case of LQR controller is much higher than the traditional controllers. The response speed always follows the set speed with the short conversion time, there isn't overshoot. The response speed is almost unaffected when the torque impact on the shaft is changed.</span>


Robotica ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yun Ling ◽  
Jian Wu ◽  
Weiping Zhou ◽  
Yubiao Wang ◽  
Changcheng Wu

SUMMARY This paper proposes a novel laser beam tracking mechanism for a mobile target robot that is used in shooting ranges. Compared with other traditional tracking mechanisms and modules, the proposed laser beam tracking mechanism is more flexible and low cost in use. The mechanical design and the working principle of the tracking module are illustrated, and the complete control system of the mobile target robot is introduced in detail. The tracking control includes two main steps: localizing the mobile target robot with regards to the position of the laser beam and tracking the laser beam by the linear quadratic regulator (LQR). First of all, the state function of the control system is built for this tracking system; second, the control law is deduced according to the discretized state function; lastly, the stability of the control method is proved by the Lyapunov theory. The experimental results demonstrate that the Hue, Saturation, Value feature-extracting method is robust and is qualified to be used for localization in the laser beam tracking control. It is verified through experiments that the LQR method is of better performance than the conventional Proportional Derivative control in the aspect of converge time, lateral error control, and distance error control.


2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-270
Author(s):  
Firat Sal

Purpose The purpose of this paper presents the effects of actively morphing root chord and taper on the energy of the flight control system (i.e. FCS). Design/methodology/approach Via regarding previously mentioned purposes, sophisticated and realistic helicopter models are benefitted to examine the energy of the FCS. Findings Helicopters having actively morphing blade root chord length and blade taper consume less control energy than the ones having one of or any of passively morphing blade root chord length and blade taper. Practical implications Actively morphing blade root chord length and blade taper can be used for cheaper helicopter operations. Originality/value The main originality of this paper is applying active morphing strategy on helicopter blade root chord and blade taper. In this paper, it is also found that using active morphing strategy on helicopter blade root chord and blade taper reasons less energy consumption than using either passively morphing blade root chord length plus blade taper or not any. This causes also less fuel consumption and green environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-419
Author(s):  
Jerzy Graffstein ◽  
Piotr Maslowski

Purpose The main purpose of this work was elaboration and verification of a method of assessing the sensitivity of automatic control laws to parametric uncertainty of an airplane’s mathematical model. The linear quadratic regulator (LQR) methodology was used as an example design procedure for the automatic control of an emergency manoeuvre. Such a manoeuvre is assumed to be pre-designed for the selected airplane. Design/methodology/approach The presented method of investigating the control systems’ sensitivity comprises two main phases. The first one consists in computation of the largest variations of gain factors, defined as differences between their nominal values (defined for the assumed model) and the values obtained for the assumed range of parametric uncertainty. The second phase focuses on investigating the impact of the variations of these factors on the behaviour of automatic control in the manoeuvre considered. Findings The results obtained allow for a robustness assessment of automatic control based on an LQR design. Similar procedures can be used to assess in automatic control arrived at through varying design methods (including methods other than LQR) used to control various manoeuvres in a wide range of flight conditions. Practical implications It is expected that the presented methodology will contribute to improvement of automatic flight control quality. Moreover, such methods should reduce the costs of the mathematical nonlinear model of an airplane through determining the necessary accuracy of the model identification process, needed for assuring the assumed control quality. Originality/value The presented method allows for the investigation of the impact of the parametric uncertainty of the airplane’s model on the variations of the gain-factors of an automatic flight control system. This also allows for the observation of the effects of such variations on the course of the selected manoeuvre or phase of flight. This might be a useful tool for the design of crucial elements of an automatic flight control system.


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