Abstract
Wind tunnel based Virtual Flight Testing (VFT) is a dynamic wind tunnel test for evaluating flight control systems (FCS) proposed in recent decades. It integrates aerodynamics, flight dynamics, and FCS as a whole and is a more realistic and reliable method for FCS evaluation than traditional ground evaluation methods, such as Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS). With FCS evaluated by VFT before flight test, the risk of flight test will be further reduced. In this paper, the background, progress, and prospects of VFT are systematically summarized. Specifically, the differences among VFT, traditional dynamic wind tunnel methods, and traditional FCS evaluation methods are introduced in order to address the advantages of evaluating FCS with VFT. Secondly, the progress of VFT is reviewed in detail. Then, the test system and key technologies of VFT for FCS evaluation are analyzed. Lastly, the prospects of VFT for evaluating FCS are described.
Highlights
(1) What Is Virtual Flight Testing? A broad definition of Virtual Flight Testing (VFT) is given here
The IR seeker and autopilot box are located in separate facilities (located either on or off the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC)), while the test model is mounted on a spherical gas bearing installed in a wind tunnel
This study suggests that the dynamic wind tunnel flying experiments route is a simple and viable technique for routine generation of aerodynamic stability data in wind tunnels and is a tool for studying active control laws
Summary
(1) What Is Virtual Flight Testing? A broad definition of Virtual Flight Testing (VFT) is given here. Among the traditional wind tunnel tests, only the low speed wind tunnel freeflight tests with power and free spin/tumble tests have the FCS and can be used to evaluate partial performances of FCS, while other dynamic tests are mainly applied to measure stability derivatives and design flight control law. As low speed wind tunnel free-flight tests with power and free spin/tumble tests can all be used to evaluate performances of FCS like VFT, their differences are as follows:. Traditional dynamic wind tunnel tests cannot simulate real 6-degree-of-freedom flight and high speed free-flight with closed-loop control and cannot evaluate guidance and control system and closedloop control performances at high speed, while VFT can supply this gap. In order to provide aerodynamic forces and moments for the kinematic equations of aircraft, aerodynamic models
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