Development and validation of on‐board systems control laws

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to describe the tool and procedure developed in order to design the control laws of several UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) sub-systems. The authors designed and developed the logics governing: landing gear, nose wheel steering, wheel braking, and fuel system. Design/methodology/approach -This procedure is based on a general purpose, object-oriented, simulation tool. The development method used is based on three-steps. The main structure of the control laws is defined through flow charts; then the logics are ported to ANSI-C programming language; finally the code is implemented inside the status model. The status model is a Matlab-Simulink model, which uses an embedded Matlabfunction to model the FCC (Flight Control Computer). The core block is linked with the components, but cannot access their internal model. Interfaces between FCCs and system components in the model reflect real system ones. Findings -The user verifies systems' reactions in real time, through the status model. Using block-oriented approach, development of the control laws and integration of several systems is faster. Practical implications -The tool aims to test and validate the control laws dynamically, helping specialists to find out odd logics or undesired responses, during the pre-design. Originality/value -The development team can test and verify the control laws in various failure scenarios. This tool allows more reliable and effective logics to be produced, which can be directly used on the system. NomenclatureDefinitions, acronyms and abbreviations FCC ¼ flight control computer FS ¼ fuel system GCS ¼ ground control station HALE ¼ high altitude long endurance IMA ¼ integrated modular avionic LASE ¼ low altitude short endurance LDG ¼ landing gear system MALE ¼ medium altitude long endurance NWS ¼ nose wheel steering system PS ¼ pressure sensor SOV ¼ shut off valve SSC ¼ supervision and coordination station SMAT ¼ advanced environment monitoring system TCS ¼ tactical control station UAS ¼ unmanned aerial system UAV ¼ unmanned aerial vehicle WBS ¼ wheel braking system WOW ¼ weight on wheels To purchase reprints of this article please

A directional control system for UCAV automatic takeoff roll

“…The active disturbance rejection controller can effectively resist a downburst as well as horizontal and vertical wind turbulence, and therefore it can guarantee a safe takeoff in a wide range of wind conditions. Medici et al (2012) described a faster and more reliable method to develop and validate the control laws of several UAV sub-systems, including the landing gear, nose wheel steering and wheel braking. It can verify the control laws in various failure conditions and thus allows more reliable and effective control logic to be produced.…”