Innovative Eco-Inspired Robust Control Design Methodology with application to Aircraft Propulsion Systems

Abstract

In this paper we propose a novel robust control design methodology with application to aircraft propulsion systems. This robust controller is intended to make the system perform as desired even in the presence of large variations about the nominal system model. Existing engine control systems are designed to operate as desired over a wide range of conditions, however their performance gets significantly degraded in the presence of perturbations. In short, they lack ‘robustness’ to perturbations and disturbances. With increased requirement in performance and safety of both military and civilian flight vehicles, there is even greater need for modern day complex turbine engines to operate satisfactorily in spite of highly uncertain environments. Therefore, there is critical need for robust stability analysis of the engine systems and for the design of a robust controller for these engines. The proposed control design is intended to build a robust controller that assures robust stability and at the same time delivers satisfactory performance for such perturbation scenarios. The controller renders the closed loop system robust by altering the nature of existing interactions and interconnections between various subcomponents of the system to enhance robustness. The novelty of this robust control design method lies in the incorporation of the nature of perturbations and the nature of system dynamics including the interactions and interconnections between various dynamic components of the engine into the robust stability analysis and control design.