In-Flight Rotorblade Tracking Control for Helicopters Using Active Trailing-Edge Flaps

This paper presents a new active in-flight rotorblade tracking control system for helicopters equipped with trailing-edge flap actuators on the rotor blades. The objective of the in-flight rotorblade tracking controller is to minimize vibrations in the helicopter cabin and vibratory loads at the rot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of guidance, control, and dynamics control, and dynamics, 2014-03, Vol.37 (2), p.633-643
Main Authors: King, F. A, Maurice, J.-B, Fichter, W, Dieterich, O, Konstanzer, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Active control
Actuators
Aircraft compartments
Control algorithms
Design engineering
Dynamical systems
Dynamics
Flaps
Flight tests
Helicopter control
Helicopters
Mechanics
Tracking control
Tracking errors
Tracking systems
Trailing edge flaps
Transfer matrices
Vibration
Vibratory loads
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Summary:This paper presents a new active in-flight rotorblade tracking control system for helicopters equipped with trailing-edge flap actuators on the rotor blades. The objective of the in-flight rotorblade tracking controller is to minimize vibrations in the helicopter cabin and vibratory loads at the rotor hub induced by static blade dissimilarities. The control design is based on a steady-state transfer matrix from flap inputs to vibration outputs, which is first identified experimentally and then symmetrized. For this design model, an analytically derived Moore–Penrose pseudoinverse, which plays a key role in overcoming restrictions of existing approaches, such as the dependency on full-rank transfer matrices, is used. The system is verified through flight tests carried out with a full-scale experimental helicopter. The results demonstrate that the presented in-flight tracking system effectively minimizes the tracking error induced vibrations.
ISSN:0731-5090
1533-3884
DOI:10.2514/1.59475