Integrated Model Reduction and Control of Aircraft with Flexible Wings

This paper presents an integrated approach to the modeling and control of aircraft with flexible wings. The coupled aircraft rigid body dynamics with a high-order elastic wing model can be represented in a finite dimensional state-space form. Given a set of desired output covariance, a model reduction process is performed by using the weighted Modal Cost Analysis (MCA). A dynamic output feedback controller, which is designed based on the reduced-order model, is developed by utilizing output covariance constraint (OCC) algorithm, and the resulting OCC design weighting matrix is used for the next iteration of the weighted cost analysis. This controller is then validated for full-order evaluation model to ensure that the aircraft’s handling qualities are met and the fluttering motion of the wings suppressed. An iterative algorithm is developed in CONDUIT environment to realize the integration of model reduction and controller design. The proposed integrated approach is applied to NASA Generic Transport Model (GTM) for demonstration.