Modeling and Control of a NextGen Circulation Control Based Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

本项目旨在利用新颖的控制概念，即循环控制，对固定翼飞行器的动力学特性进行表征和精确建模。与飞机上常用的传统控制面相比，循环控制是提高升力的最有效的主动流量控制方法。循环控制翼（CCW）包括一个空气输送系统，通过与飞行器主机身集成的供气单元，将空气均匀地“吹”到机翼的后缘。虽然常规武器的概念比目前最先进的技术有巨大的优势，但在这种设计的基本建模和控制方面仍有明显的改进需求。该项目将导致一个全面的和可验证的理论和实验方法来开发数学模型和控制策略，使用无人驾驶飞行器（UAV）平台作为试验台。该项目的研究结果将为设计全尺寸的无人循环控制飞行器奠定基础，并有助于对其他应用中循环控制的实现有一个大致的了解。从该项目中获得的基本理解将有助于设计具有CCW概念的新型飞行器，这些飞行器可以显著提高空气动力学效率，增加巡航飞行期间的有效载荷，延迟失速的可能性，并减少起飞和降落时对跑道的要求。项目活动也与本科和研究生的教育经历相结合。传统无人机的数学模型已有几种，但是基于循环控制的飞行器设计还没有解析模型或实验模型。此外，循环控制对新构型飞机气动特性的影响是未知的，因此，控制设计的标准设计技术不能应用于这些新的无人机设计。本项目的研究重点是提供一种综合的方法来推导具有循环控制的无人机的详细数学模型和运动方程。设计方法将针对各种情况开发：CC-on， CC-off和CC-on-demand。新制定的模型和衍生控制器将首先通过X-Plane模拟器环境的广泛仿真研究进行验证，然后通过改装的ReadyMadeRC Ananconda测试平台进行飞行实验。预计研究结果将是一个经过验证和验证的设计。该项目的方法将准确表征俯仰力矩、稳定性和由于循环控制而产生的控制导数的影响。一个独特的特点是导航控制器推导，考虑到根据正在进行的任务变化的吹风条件。此外，循环控制系统控制器根据设定的目标和/或所需的提升力动态调整吹气速率；这阻止了控制系统在任何时候都以满负荷运行。

This project aims at characterizing and accurately modeling the dynamics of fixed wing aerial vehicle with novel control concept, namely circulation control. Circulation control is the most effective active flow control method for lift enhancement purposes when compared to traditional control surfaces commonly used in aircraft. The circulation control wing (CCW) includes an air delivery system that "blows" air uniformly on the trailing edge of the wing through an air supply unit that is integrated with the main fuselage of the vehicle. While the CCW concept has huge benefits over the current state-of-the-art, there is a distinct need for improvements in the fundamental modeling and control aspects of such design. This project will lead to a comprehensive and verifiable theoretical and experimental methodology to develop the mathematical model and control strategies using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform as the test-bed. The results from this project will lay a foundation for designing a full-scale unmanned circulation control aerial vehicle and contribute to a general understanding of implementation of circulation control in other applications. The fundamental understanding gained from this project will help design new aerial vehicles with the CCW concept that can deliver significantly enhanced aerodynamic efficiency, increased useful payload during cruise flight, delayed likelihood of stalling, and reduced runway requirements during take-off and landing. The project activities are also integrated with undergraduate and graduate educational experience.There exist several mathematical models for conventional UAVs, but there is no analytical or experimental model of the circulation control-based aerial vehicle designs. Also, the effect of circulation control on the aerodynamic characteristics of the new configuration aircraft are not known and, as a result, standard design techniques for control design cannot be applied to these new UAV designs. The research focus of this project is on providing a comprehensive methodology to derive a detailed mathematical model and equations of motion for the UAV with circulation control. The design methodology will be developed for various cases: CC-on, CC-off and CC-on-demand. The newly formulated models and derived controllers will be validated first through extensive simulation studies using X-Plane simulator environment and then through flight experiments using a retrofitted ReadyMadeRC Ananconda test platform. The outcome of the research is expected to be a verified and validated design. The project's methods will accurately characterize the effect of pitching moment, stability and control derivatives due to circulation control. A unique feature is the navigation controller derivation that accounts for changing blowing conditions depending on the on-going mission. Further, the circulation control system controller dynamically adjusts the blowing rate in accordance to set objectives and/or the required lift enhancement; this prevents operating the control system at full capacity at all times.