Abstract
To solve the lateral-directional control problem of the high aspect ratio full-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) without an aileron and rudder, a control method is proposed that uses the differential thrust of propellers as the control output and the yaw angle as the controlled attitude angle. Meanwhile, simulation analysis and experimental verification are carried out. First, a lateral-direction mathematical model and a differential thrust of propeller model of the full-wing drone are established. The influence of the aerodynamic derivative C Y β on the lateral-direction mode is analyzed. Second, based on nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI) and active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) theories, a yaw angle controller that uses the differential thrust of propellers as the control output is designed. Finally, the vector field (VF) method is improved to obtain the straight-line trajectory tracking method satisfying different speeds, and the logic of waypoint switching is given. The research shows that C Y β has a great influence on the dutch roll damping of the drone. For the full-wing configuration, it is feasible to use the yaw angle as the controlled attitude angle without considering the roll angle. The simulation and experimental results show that the designed lateral-directional control method for the high aspect ratio full-wing UAV has a good control effect and disturbance rejection ability. Meanwhile, the control method has less parameters to adjust and less calculation, which is very suitable for engineering applications.
Highlights
High aspect ratio full-wings have a higher lift-drag ratio at low speed and simpler structure than the conventional configuration, so they are favorable for solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
S, b are the airspeed, planform area, and wingspan of the aircraft. qis the dynamic pressure. ∆Fp is the differential thrust of propellers, while d p is the distance between the propellers and the symmetric plane of the UAV
The curve of 18–30 s in Figure 17a shows that the response time of the nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI)-active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) yaw angle controller was about 5 s, which was the same as in the simulations
Summary
High aspect ratio full-wings have a higher lift-drag ratio at low speed and simpler structure than the conventional configuration, so they are favorable for solar-powered UAVs. Limited by solar radiation energy, all solar-powered UAVs have high aspect ratio wings and ultra-low structures in order to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce structural weight. This makes wings prone to torsional deformation, and the aileron’s control efficiency is very low, as well as aileron reversal may occur. Sci. 2019, 9, 4236 high aspect ratio full-wing UAVs, such as Pathfinder [2], use the differential thrust of propellers instead of ailerons and rudders. Showed that NDI has a good control effect, but it needs a precise mathematical model of the controlled drone For the latter, the vector field trajectory tracking method, proposed by Nelson [13], is one of the most popular trajectory tracking methods presently [14,15,16]. The control effects of the designed controller are verified with simulations and flight tests
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