Robust Control of PVTOL Aircraft with a Nonlinear Optimal Control Solution

Abstract

In this paper, a new nonlinear control strategy is proposed for hovering control of planar vertical takeoff and landing (PVTOL) aircraft. The control of this typical nonlinear, nonminimum-phase system is treated as a robust control problem. The robust control design is then converted to an equivalent optimal control design so that both stabilization and performance can be guaranteed. The primary contribution of this work is to provide a closed-form solution to the resultant nonlinear optimal control problem by employing a recently emerging nonlinear control approach, called the θ−D technique. The θ−D technique is based on optimal control theory and derived from an approximate solution to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation via a perturbation process. This formulation will not only enhance the system performance but also simplify the design process in that robustness and optimality are integrated in one unified optimal control framework. Furthermore, the closed-form control law is very suitable for onboard implementation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by simulation results and comparison studies with a similar linearization based optimal control formulation.