On-line identification, flutter testing and adaptive notching of structural mode parameters for V-22 tiltrotor aircraft

Abstract

New algorithms and results are presented for flutter testing and adaptive notching of structural modes in V-22 tiltrotor aircraft based on simulated and flight-test data from Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. (BHTI). For flutter testing and the identification of structural mode frequencies, dampings and mode shapes, time domain state space techniques based on Deterministic Stochastic Realization Algorithms (DSRA) are used to accurately identify multiple modes simultaneously from sine sweep and other multifrequency data, resulting in great savings over the conventional Prony method. Two different techniques for adaptive notching are explored in order to design an Integrated Flight Structural Control (IFSC) system. The first technique is based on on-line identification of structural mode parameters using DSRA algorithm and tuning of a notch filter. The second technique is based on decoupling rigid-body and structural modes of the aircraft by means of a Kalman filter and using rigid-body estimates in the feedback control loop. The difference between the two approaches is that on-line identification and adaptive notching in the first approach are entirely based on the knowledge of structural modes, whereas the Kalman filter design in the second approach is based on the rigid-body dynamic model only. In the first IFSC design, on-line identification is necessary for flight envelope expansion and to adjust the notch filter frequencies and suppress aero-servoelastic instabilities due to changing flight conditions such as gross weight, sling loads, and air speed. It is shown that by tuning the notch filter frequency to the identified frequency, the phase lag is reduced and the corresponding structural mode is effectively suppressed and stability is maintained. In the second IFSC design using Kalman filter design, the structural modes are again effectively suppressed. Furthermore, the rigid-body estimates are found to be fairly insensitive to both natural frequency and damping factor variations and therefore stability is maintained. The Kalman filter design might be a better choice when the rigid-body dynamics are well known because no adaptation is necessary in this case.