Lyapunov-based control and trajectory tracking of a 6-DOF flapping wing micro aerial vehicle

Abstract

In this work, a high-fidelity nonlinear and time-periodic six degrees-of-freedom dynamic model of a flapping wing micro aerial vehicle has been developed. The model utilized Lagrange’s equations for quasi-coordinates. A quasi-steady aerodynamic model that includes the effect of leading-edge vortex and rotational circulation was implemented. Averaging technique was used to obtain a time-invariant dynamic model for the purpose of designing a trajectory tracking control law. The sensitivity of aerodynamic forces and moments to the control parameters, namely: flapping frequency, flapping bias and stroke plane angles, was determined exploiting control derivatives. The developed controller has two loops. The outer-loop, employing integral sliding mode controller, generates desired cycle-averaged aerodynamic forces and moments. The inner loop employs a novel control allocation method. The proposed inner-loop controller provides a closed-loop feedback solution that ensures that the chosen control parameters provide the desired aerodynamic forces and moments. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed controller applied on the high-fidelity six degrees-of-freedom dynamic model successfully achieves trajectory tracking.