Application of Output Predictive Algorithmic Control to a Terrain Following Aircraft System

摘要

An effective automatic terrain following command generation system is required to safely maintain a desired clearance altitude above the terrain. For survivability, the aircraft must penetrate at transonic or high subsonic speeds at very low altitudes above ground level. This introduces new problems such as wind gusts, a faster radar update of the terrain, faster aircraft response time, and increased pilot workload. To ensure survivability, a control algorithm must be capable of interpreting all of the above input data and perform flawlessly during a terrain following mission. This report uses the terrain following scenario to evaluate a new digital controller, the Output Predictive Algorithmic Controller. This controller was able to track, during low level penetration, actual terrain data using as an aircraft model the F-111/MAW (Mission Adaptive Wing). The F-111/MAW was chosen for this study due to its direct lift capability. Two wing sweeps (35 degrees and 58 degrees) were chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of direct lift during terrain following missions. (Author)