Flight control system for a variable stability blended-wing-body unmanned aerial vehicle
Date
2009-03
Authors
Blaauw, Deon
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
Abstract
This thesis presents the analysis, design, simulation and practical implementation of a
novel control system for a variable stability blended-wing-body unmanned aerial vehicle.
The aircraft has a moveable centre of mass that allows it to operate in an aerodynamically
optimised minimum drag configuration during cruise flight. The primary
purpose of the control system is thus to regain nominal static stability for all centre of
mass positions, and then to further regulate motion variables for autonomous way point
navigation. A thorough analysis of the parameters affected by the varying centre of mass
position leads to the identification of the main control problem. It is shown that a recently
published acceleration based control methodology can be used with minor modification
to elegantly solve the variable stability control problem. After providing the details of
the control system design, the customised avionics used for their practical implementation
are presented. The results of extensive hardware in the loop simulations verify the
functionality of the controllers. Finally, flight test results illustrate the practical success
of the autopilot and clearly show how the control system is capable of controlling the
variable stability aircraft at centre of mass locations where a human pilot could not.
Description
Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
Keywords
Theses -- Electrical and electronic engineering, Dissertations -- Electrical and electronic engineering