Flight Dynamics and System Identification for Modern Feedback Control

Unmanned air vehicles are becoming increasingly popular alternatives for private applications which include, but are not limited to, fire fighting, search and rescue, atmospheric data collection, and crop surveys, to name a few. Among these vehicles are avian-inspired, flapping-wing designs, which are safe to operate near humans and are required to carry payloads while achieving manoeuverability and agility in low speed flight. Conventional methods and tools fall short of achieving the desired performance metrics and requirements of such craft. Flight dynamics and system identification for modern feedback control provides an in-depth study of the difficulties associated with achieving controlled performance in flapping-wing, avian-inspired flight, and a new model paradigm is derived using analytical and experimental methods, with which a controls designer may then apply familiar tools. This title consists of eight chapters and covers flapping-wing aircraft and flight dynamics, before looking at nonlinear, multibody modelling as well as flight testing and instrumentation. Later chapters examine system identification from flight test data, feedback control and linearization.

• Presents experimental flight data for validation and verification of modelled dynamics, thus illustrating the deficiencies and difficulties associated with modelling flapping-wing flight
• Derives a new flight dynamics model needed to model avian-inspired vehicles, based on nonlinear multibody dynamics
• Extracts aerodynamic models of flapping flight from experimental flight data and system identification techniques

Autorentext

Jared A. Grauer is a research aerospace engineer with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Langley Research Center. Prior to this he earned a PhD from the University of Maryland in Aerospace Engineering. His research is in system identification, feedback control, and unmanned air vehicle systems.

Inhalt

Dedication

List of figures

List of tables

Nomenclature

Preface

About the authors

Chapter 1: Introduction

Abstract:

1.1 Background and motivation

1.2 Bio-inspired flapping wing aircraft

1.3 Flapping-wing literature review

1.4 Scope and contributions of current research

Chapter 2: Ornithopter test platform characterizations

Abstract:

2.1 Mathematical representation of an aircraft

2.2 Ornithopter aircraft description

2.3 Measurements from flight data

2.4 Configuration-dependent mass distribution

2.5 Quasi-hover aerodynamics

2.6 Implications for flight dynamics modeling

2.7 Chapter summary

Chapter 3: Rigid multibody vehicle dynamics

Abstract:

3.1 Model configuration

3.2 Kinematic equations of motion

3.3 Dynamic equations of motion

3.4 Chapter summary

Chapter 4: System identification of aerodynamic models

Abstract:

4.1 System identification method

4.2 Tail aerodynamics

4.3 Wing aerodynamics

4.4 Chapter summary

Chapter 5: Simulation results

Abstract:

5.1 Software simulation architecture

5.2 Determining trim solutions

5.3 Numerical linearization about straight and level mean flight

5.4 Modeling implications for control

5.5 Chapter summary

Chapter 6: Concluding remarks

Abstract:

6.1 Summary of work

6.2 Summary of modeling assumptions

6.3 Summary of original contributions

6.4 Recommendations for future research

Appendix A: Field calibration of inertial measurement units

Appendix B: Actuator dynamics system identification

Appendix C: Equations of motion for single-body flight vehicles

Appendix D: Linearization of a conventional aircraft model

References

Index