Enhanced Control Methods for Aerial and Space Vehicles Equipped with Limited Force Actuators

这项研究通过提供控制空中和太空飞行器（如无人机、导弹、火箭、着陆器和上升飞行器）的新方法，支持了国家的国防和太空计划。这项研究还通过解决一个尚未解决的问题来促进科学的进步：航空和太空飞行器的执行器（螺旋桨、控制面、推进器）在保持飞行器的飞行轨迹时只能产生有限的力。例如，火星着陆器和上升飞行器对不可预测的环境力量很敏感，这些力量可能会阻止它们遵循预期的轨道。为了平衡这些力量，飞行控制系统可能不得不请求超过飞行器推进器极限的推力命令。其后果是：不理想的飞行性能，可能会阻碍任务。为了避免这种情况，控制工程师目前以增加车辆重量和成本为代价开发超大尺寸的推进器。这项研究提供了防止这种后果的控制方法，允许控制工程师设计具有较小尺寸执行器的车辆，从而提供车辆重量，成本和调度节省。综合研究、教学和推广活动将通过与大学研究所和外部中心的联系进行，这些中心促进工程和其他STEM部门之间的多学科合作，并通过与服务于历史上代表性不足的人群的学术组织的合作进行。该项目将通过美国/联合王国的这种联合合作在国际一级产生影响。

This research supports the nation's defense and space programs by providing new methods for controlling aerial and space vehicles, e.g., drones, missiles, rockets, landers, and ascent vehicles. The research also promotes the progress of science by addressing an unresolved issue: aerial and space vehicles have actuators (propellers, control surfaces, thrusters) that can only produce a limited amount of force when maintaining the vehicle's flight path. For example, Martian landers and ascent vehicles are sensitive to unpredictable environmental forces that may prevent them from following their desired trajectory. To counterbalance these forces, the flight control system may have to request thrust commands that exceed the limits of the vehicle's thrusters. The consequence: undesirable flight performance which may hinder the mission. To avoid this, control engineers presently exploit over-sized thrusters at the expense of increased vehicle weight and cost. This research provides control methods that safeguard against this consequence allowing control engineers to design vehicles with smaller sized actuators, hence providing vehicle weight, cost, and scheduling savings. Integrated research, teaching and outreach activities will be carried out through affiliations with university institutes and external centers that foster multidisciplinary collaboration among engineering and other STEM departments, and through collaborations with scholarly organizations that serve historically underrepresented populations. The project will have an impact at the international level through this joint United States/United Kingdom collaboration.