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Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.

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Main Author: Peddle, Iain K.
Other Authors: Jones, T.
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2012
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access_status_str Open Access
author Peddle, Iain K.
author2 Jones, T.
author_browse Jones, T.
Peddle, Iain K.
author_facet Jones, T.
Peddle, Iain K.
author_sort Peddle, Iain K.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/44331
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:45:04.096Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2012
publishDateRange 2012
publishDateSort 2012
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/44331 Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles Peddle, Iain K. Jones, T. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Aircraft control Autonomous vehicles UAV flight control Acceleration control Aircraft guidance Trajectory tracking Manoeuvre flight control Autopilot Drone aircraft Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A strategy for the design of an effective, practically feasible, robust, computationally efficient autopilot for three dimensional manoeuvre flight control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is presented. The core feature of the strategy is the design of attitude independent inner loop acceleration controllers. With these controllers implemented, the aircraft is reduced to a point mass with a steerable acceleration vector when viewed from an outer loop guidance perspective. Trajectory generation is also simplified with reference trajectories only required to be kinematically feasible. Robustness is achieved through uncertainty encapsulation and disturbance rejection at an acceleration level. The detailed design and associated analysis of the inner loop acceleration controllers is carried out for the case where the airflow incidence angles are small. For this case it is shown that under mild practically feasible conditions the inner loop dynamics decouple and become linear, thereby allowing the derivation of closed form pole placement solutions. Dimensional and normalised non-dimensional time variants of the inner loop controllers are designed and their respective advantages highlighted. Pole placement constraints that arise due to the typically weak non-minimum phase nature of aircraft dynamics are developed. A generic, aircraft independent guidance control algorithm, well suited for use with the inner loop acceleration controllers, is also presented. The guidance algorithm regulates the aircraft about a kinematically feasible reference trajectory. A number of fundamental basis trajectories are presented which are easily linkable to form complex three dimensional manoeuvres. Results from simulations with a number of different aircraft and reference trajectories illustrate the versatility and functionality of the autopilot. Key words: Aircraft control, Autonomous vehicles, UAV flight control, Acceleration control, Aircraft guidance, Trajectory tracking, Manoeuvre flight control. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ’n Strategie vir die ontwerp van ’n effektiewe, prakties haalbaar, robuuste, rekenkundig effektiewe outoloods vir drie dimensionele maneuver vlugbeheer van onbemande vliegtuie word voorgestel. Die kerneienskap van die strategie is die ontwerp van oriëntasie-onafhanklike binnelus-versnellingbeheerders. Hierdie beheerders stel die navigasie buitelus in staat om die voertuig as ’n puntmassa met ’n stuurbare versnellingsvektor te beskou. Trajekgenerasie is ook vereenvoudig deurdat verwysingstrajekte slegs kinematies haalbaar hoef te wees. Robuustheid word verkry deur onsekerhede en versteuringsverwerping op ’n versnellingsvlak te hanteer. Die gedetaileerde ontwerp en saamhangende analise van die binnelus versnellingsbeheerders word uitgevoer vir die geval waar die invalshoeke klein is. Dit word aangetoon dat, onder praktiese omstandighede, die binnelus dinamika ontkoppel kan word en lineêr word, wat die afleiding van geslotevorm poolplasingoplossings toelaat. Dimensionele en genormaliseerde, nie-dimensionele tydvariante van die binnelusbeheerders word ontwerp en hul onderskeidelike voordele word uitgewys. Poolplasing beperkings, wat ontstaan as gevolg van die tipiese geringe nie-minimum fasegedrag van voertuigdinamika, word ontwikkel. ’n Gepaste generiese, voertuig onafhanklike navigasiebeheer algoritme vir gebruik saam met die binnelus-versnellingsbeheerders word voorgestel. Die voertuig word om ’n kinematies haalbare verwysingstrajek deur hierdie navigasie algoritme gereguleer. ’n Aantal fundamentele trajekte word voorgestel wat maklik gekombineer kan word om komplekse drie dimensionele maneuvers te vorm. Die veelsydigheid en funksionaliteit van die outoloods word deur simulasieresultate met ’n verskeidenheid voertuie en verwysingstrajekte gedemonstreer. Doctoral 2012-08-10T21:50:22Z 2014-03-31T03:00:03Z 2008-12 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/44331 en_ZA Stellenbosch University xv, 264 p. : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Aircraft control
Autonomous vehicles
UAV flight control
Acceleration control
Aircraft guidance
Trajectory tracking
Manoeuvre flight control
Autopilot
Drone aircraft
Peddle, Iain K.
Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
title Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
title_full Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
title_fullStr Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
title_full_unstemmed Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
title_short Acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
title_sort acceleration based manoeuvre flight control system for unmanned aerial vehicles
topic Aircraft control
Autonomous vehicles
UAV flight control
Acceleration control
Aircraft guidance
Trajectory tracking
Manoeuvre flight control
Autopilot
Drone aircraft
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/44331
work_keys_str_mv AT peddleiaink accelerationbasedmanoeuvreflightcontrolsystemforunmannedaerialvehicles