Real-time shape estimation of very flexible aircraft structures through complementary filtering

Abstract

This paper proposes a method for high-bandwidth, low-latency state estimation of highly-deformed beam-like flexible structures considering piecewise-constant torsion and curvature distributions for active shape control purposes. It does not rely on knowledge of the aircraft's structural and aerodynamic dynamic models in a similar sense that an inertial navigation system does not rely on the flight mechanics model of the aircraft it belongs. The method uses the section extremities attitudes, estimated using complementary filtering, to determine torsion and curvature. Finally, the paper analyzes the estimator's frequency domain properties around chosen equilibrium conditions.