Robust Multivariable Flight Control

Manual flight control system design for fighter aircraft is one of the most demanding problems in automatic control. Fighter aircraft dynamics generally have highly coupled uncertain and nonlinear dynamics. Multivariable control design techniques offer a solution to this problem. Robust Multivariable Flight Control provides the background, theory and examples for full envelope manual flight control system design. It gives a versatile framework for the application of advanced multivariable control theory to aircraft control problems. Two design case studies are presented for the manual flight control of lateral/directional axes of the VISTA-F-16 test vehicle and an F-18 trust vectoring system. They demonstrate the interplay between theory and the physical features of the systems.

Manual flight control system design for fighter aircraft is one of the most demanding problems in automatic control. Fighter aircraft dynamics generally have highly coupled uncertain and nonlinear dynamics. Multivariable control design techniques offer a solution to this problem. Robust Multivariable Flight Control provides the background, theory and examples for full envelope manual flight control system design. It gives a versatile framework for the application of advanced multivariable control theory to aircraft control problems. Two design case studies are presented for the manual flight control of lateral/directional axes of the VISTA-F-16 test vehicle and an F-18 trust vectoring system. They demonstrate the interplay between theory and the physical features of the systems.

Classical design and analysis techniques, many of which date back to the 1950's, are still predominantly used in the aerospace industry for the design and analysis of automatic flight control and aero-engine control systems. The continued success and popularity of these techniques is particularly impressive considering the radical advances in aircraft and spacecraft design and avionics technology made over this period. Clearly, an understanding of both the advantages and limitations of these methods is essential in order to properly evaluate the likely usefulness of more modern techniques for the design and analysis of aerospace control systems. One of the themes of this book is that the multivariable robust control methods it describes are logical and natural extensions of the more classical methods, and not replacements for them. It is assumed that readers of this publication are already familiar with classical flight control techniques. Emphasis is on the philosophy, advantages and limitations of the classical approach to flight control system design and analysis. Abstracted in Inspec

The workshop was organized and conducted by the Control Techniques Group, Flight Control Division, Flight Dynamics Laboratory, as part of an ongoing effort in flight control specification/criteria development. The workshop focused on the results of applying multivariable control techniques to the development of flight control systems for present day aircraft. This report contains condensed versions of the five papers presented at the workshop: (1) Multivariable Control Laws for the AFTI/F-16, (2) Design of a Complete Multivariable Digital Flight Control System, (3)Digital Multivariable Tracker Control Laws for the C-141-A Starlifter Aircraft; (4) High-Gain Error Actuated Flight Control Systems for Continuous Linear Multivariable Plants, and (5) Reconfigurable Digital Control Laws for the A-7D DIGITAC II Aircraft With Failed Primary Control Surfaces.

Linear multiple-input multiple-output (multivariable) control systems are considered. The intent of this report is to familiarize the working engineers with some of the developments in the area of robust multivariable control theory that have occurred in the past 10 years. The concepts of singular values are used to systematically develop robust control systems analysis and design techniques. The advantages and limitations of these techniques are discussed. Examples are used to illustrate the methods. Keywords: Roll attitude control; LQG/LTR(Linear Quadratic Gaussian with Loop Transfer Recovery); and Drone aircraft. (Author).

In October 1994, 22 organisations throughout Europe accepted a challenge to solve a specific robust flight control design problem. The results of that design challenge, presented at the GARTEUR Specialists' Workshop in Toulouse, France in April 1997, are reported here. Two flight control benchmarks are considered, based on the automatic landing phase of a large cargo aircraft and on the control of a military aircraft. Methods applied include: classical control; multi-objective optimisation; eigenstructure assignment; modal multi-model approach; LQ, Lyapunov and H¿-techniques; ¿-synthesis; nonlinear dynamic inversion; robust inverse dynamics estimation; model predictive control and following; and fuzzy control. Involved in the definition of the benchmarks and the evaluation process have been representatives from the European aeronautical industry, bringing a strong link with flight control law design practice.

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