Adaptive Self-Tuning Flight Control System for ATLANTE UAS

摘要

This paper presents an adaptive self-tuning flight control system (AST-FCS) for a fixed-wing aircraft, applied to a high-fidelity dynamic model of the ATLANTE unmanned aircraft system (UAS). This new adaptive control system is based on adaptive predictive (AP) control methodology and a new guidance system. AP control has been implemented in many complex industrial applications with excellent results, but it has not been applied in the aerospace sector yet. Experimental results obtained in simulation by flying a high-fidelity model of the ATLANTE UAS illustrate excellent control system performance and show the robustness of the AST-FCS, which has been designed without using accurate knowledge of the aircraft dynamics embedded within the model. It is expected that the application of AP control in this field could introduce significant advantages in aircraft control, improving performance in a wide variety of flight conditions and reducing design costs. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.