A Novel Sliding Mode Controller for Underactuated Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft

Abstract

Compared with other control methods, the biggest advantage of using sliding mode variable structure control method lies in its strong robustness which could be used to directly handle the strong nonlinear flight control system. However, this control method requires switching between different switching surfaces, which will inevitably cause buffeting problems, so that the energy consumption increases. Therefore, how to overcome this disadvantage to achieve the superior performance of sliding mode variable structure control method is the current research focus. This paper studies the trajectory tracking of under-actuated VTOL aircraft with three degrees of freedom and two control inputs under various coupling effects. By the input and coordinate transformation, the dynamic equation of the system is transformed into decoupled standard under-actuated form and the sliding mode controller is designed. Then Lyapunov stability theorem is used to derive sliding mode control law which could ensure that the system asymptotically converges to the given trajectory. The simulation has demonstrated the effectiveness of this method