Most of the gust load alleviation systems (GLAS) of currently-operational aircraft are of feedback-only control architecture based on inertial measurements. In few other aircraft, aerodynamic measurements from air data sensors are additionally included, or presently considered for inclusion, as they usually result in improving the performance of the GLAS. In both sensor types, the control system has very little time to react; and therefore, the performance of the GLAS would be further enhanced if the turbulence or gust could be measured at some distance ahead of the aircraft. Doppler LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) sensors could enable such preview of the turbulence or gust, at a short range (typically between 30 and 200 meters) ahead of the aircraft. In this paper, the availability of a vertical wind profile ahead of the aircraft is assumed, and the paper focuses on the design of a load alleviation controller that exploits this information. The proposed methodology of designing this controller is based on the application of the H ∞ optimal control techniques to a discrete-time preview control problem. Minimizing the H ∞ norm of the transfer function from wind input to loads output, directly leads to the design of an effective load alleviation function. The preview-control formulation enables the design algorithm to synthesize a combined preview-capable feedforward and feedback load alleviation function. For a practical reason, the developed methodology is applied in the course of this paper to a flexible sailplane model (DLR's Discus-2c), although it is intended to be applied to larger airplanes (e.g. transport airplanes and business jets).

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Turbulence and gusts cause variations in the aerodynamic forces and moments applied to the structure of aircraft, resulting in passenger discomfort and dynamic loads on the structure that it must be designed to support. By designing Gust Load Alleviation (GLA) systems, two objectives can be achieved: first, realizing higher passenger comfort; and second, reducing the dynamic structural loads, which allows the design of lighter structures. In this paper, a methodology for designing combined feedback/feedforward GLA systems is proposed. The methodology relies on the availability of a wind profile ahead of the aircraft measured by a Doppler LIDAR sensor, and is based on $H_{\infty}$-optimal control techniques and a discrete-time preview-control problem formulation. Moreover, to allow design trade-offs between those two objectives (to achieve design flexibility) as well as to allow specification of robustness criteria, a variant of the problem using multi-channel $H_{\infty}$-optimal control techniques is introduced. The methodology developed in this paper is intended to be applied to large aircraft, e.g. transport aircraft or business jets. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed design methodology in accounting for the measured wind profile to achieve the two mentioned objectives, while ensuring both design flexibility and controller robustness and optimality.

This paper will discuss the deployment of the concentric dual diameter fixed cutter bit technology which was introduced in January 2015. The bit was deployed and tested several times in a tangent, directional application and J-shap wells in Burgan Field, South of Kuwait and achieved the fastest penetration rate in the application. The concentric dual diameter bit is composed of a smaller pilot and a larger reamer section, where the reamer section dictates the final drill size. Conventional fixed cutter bits take very little advantage of stress relieving the rock, as it only affects the borehole wall. Concentric dual diameter technology bits are able to initially drill with a leading smaller pilot section efficiently to relieve the stress of the rocks. Subsequently, the reamer section removes the stress-relieved rock with lower mechanical specific energy compared to regular fixed cutter bits, giving it the advantage to generate higher penetration rates. Another advantage of the concentric dual diameter technology bits is the stability of the bit, since two gauge sections are available to be in constant contact with the borehole while drilling. The first 12 ¼ in. concentric dual diameter technology bit in conjunction with directional 8¼ in. PDM (0.16 R/G, 7/8 lobes, 4 stages, 1.5 BH) BHA was tested in a directional application J-Shape well in Burgan Field, South of Kuwait. The bit was able to deliver improved performance by drilling the tangent section from 4345 ft to 6019 ft from Ahmadi to Burgan formation, total 1674 ft in 17 hrs with 98.4 ft/hr. The bit showed excellent steerability, building from 39 deg to 43 deg with 3 deg/100 ft max DLG severity. The section lithology consists mainly of Shale, Limestone & Sandstone. The performance capability was confirmed when the second bit run in conjunction with directional 8¼ in. PDM (0.16 R/G, 7/8 lobes, 4 stages, 1.5 BH) BHA was tested in a directional application S-Shape well in Burgan Field, South of Kuwait. The bit was able to deliver improved performance by drilling the dropping section total 940 ft from Ahmadi to Burgan formation. The bit showed excellent steerability, dropping from 15 deg to 0 deg with 3 deg/100 ft max DLG severity. The section lithology consists mainly of Shale, Limestone & Sandstone. The 12 ¼ in. concentric dual diameter was able to surpass the average rate of penetration for the same application in the Burgan Field by 56% saving the operator drilling time and making the concentric dual diameter bit design the top performing drill bit in the field.