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Robust LPV autopilot design for hypersonic reentry vehicle

Cai Gaohua (Key Laboratory of Dynamics and Control of Flight Vehicle, Ministry of Education, School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)
Song Jianmei (Key Laboratory of Dynamics and Control of Flight Vehicle, Ministry of Education, School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China)
Chen Xianxiang (Beijing Institute of Computer Application, Beijing, China)

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology

ISSN: 0002-2667

Article publication date: 26 August 2014

601

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a robust angle-of-attack (AOA) tracking control system for the hypersonic reentry vehicle (HRV) based on the linear parameter varying (LPV) theory, as the aerodynamic coefficients of the hypersonic vehicle vary quickly during the reentry phase.

Design/methodology/approach

First, longitudinal moment trim is done along the desired flight trajectory. The linearized system at each trim point is built and the dynamic characteristics analysis is made. Then the LPV control law with parameter-dependent quadratic Lyapunov function (PDQLF-LPV) is applied to design the AOA tracking autopilot at each trim point. Frequency performance of the autopilot is assessed and the step response simulation is conducted to validate the effectiveness of the control system. Finally, actual AOA command tracking simulations based on the time-varying nonlinear model are carried out to test the correctness and robustness of the PDQLF-LPV autopilot.

Findings

Analysis results demonstrate that the PDQLF-LPV control system can track the AOA command perfectly during the whole flight envelop with dynamics parameter variation or disturbances, which indicates that it is effective to integrate the PDQLF-LPV control theory with a parameter-varying reference model for control system design of HRV.

Originality/value

A reference model with varying parameters is utilized to guarantee the transient performance of the autopilot, and induced L2-norm analysis is introduced to describe and guarantee the robust stability of the autopilot.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the Aviation Science Foundation of China (20110172001), and it is also supported by the Cultivation Special Purpose Project of the Science and Technology Innovation, Major Program of Beijing Institute of Technology of China (2011CX01007).

Citation

Gaohua, C., Jianmei, S. and Xianxiang, C. (2014), "Robust LPV autopilot design for hypersonic reentry vehicle", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 86 No. 5, pp. 423-431. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-10-2012-0198

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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