Modeling and Closed Loop Flight Testing of a Fixed Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Abstract

This paper presents the nonlinear six degrees of freedom dynamic modeling of a fixed wing micro air vehicle. The static derivatives of the micro air vehicle are obtained through the wind tunnel testing. The propeller effects on the lift, drag, pitching moment and side force are quantified through wind tunnel testing. The dynamic derivatives are obtained through empirical relations available in the literature. The trim conditions are computed for a straight and constant altitude flight condition. The linearized longitudinal and lateral state space models are obtained about trim conditions. The variations in short period mode, phugoid mode, Dutch roll mode, roll subsidence mode and spiral mode with respect to different trim operating conditions is presented. A stabilizing static output feedback controller is designed using the obtained model. Successful closed loop flight trials are conducted with the static output feedback controller.

Integrated guidance and control framework for the waypoint navigation of a miniature aircraft with highly coupled longitudinal and lateral dynamics

“…The waypoint navigation algorithm is simulated for the non-linear six degrees of freedom (6DOF) model of the 150 mm MAV given in. 1 Flight test results are presented in, 1 validating the non-linear model used for simulation. Two simulations are performed in which the first one is to demonstrate straight line path following without any wind disturbances.…”

“…Coupled linear state space model of the MAV The specifications of the MAV considered in this paper is given in Table 1. 1,5 The MAV has a rectangular planform with a wingspan of 0.15 m and a chord length of 0.11 m. Due to limitations in takeoff weight and space availability, only elevator and rudder control surfaces are employed without aileron. This makes the MAV further under-actuated when compared to conventional unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).…”

“…Fixed wing micro air vehicles (MAV) are extremely agile, lightweight aircraft with a maximum wingspan of 150 mm. 1 In any of the MAV applications, it has to reach a set of waypoints, specified by the end user. In most of the waypoint navigation problems, guidance and control are treated as two separate problems.…”

Identification of In-Flight Wingtip Folding Effects on the Roll Characteristics of a Flexible Aircraft

“…Experimental data from wind-tunnel tests of a mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with folding wingtips intended for roll control [13,14] have shown significant modifications to both lateral and directional aerodynamic derivatives as a function of flight conditions and fold angles. Additionally, it could be argued that the use of folding wingtip devices could also be used on even smaller scales such as Micro AV (MAV) designs [15] for attitude control and performance augmentation. In the latter cases of MAV and UAV (and even the XB-70), relatively low aspect ratio wings tend to benefit more from folding wingtips as control surfaces or directional stability enhancements whilst higher aspect ratio may also see benefits directly on roll performances and potential loads alleviation applications.…”

Experimental Validation of Total Energy Control System for UAVs

“…However, system measurements from gyroscope and accelerometer sensors can be corrupted with Gaussian noise [7] and by wind disturbances acting on the aircraft. Wind disturbances are not often recorded, so the model response to these perturbations cannot be predicted [8]. The EKF fuses all available measurements to reject errors from gathered data so that the vehicle will be less susceptible to individual sensor faults and the platforms will be more reliable.…”