Aircraft Actuation Control With Direct Acceleration Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft control systems struggle to provide fast and precise control, especially in unmanned and autonomously operating aircraft, due to limitations in dynamic response and sensitivity to aerodynamic and aeroelastic properties, particularly with larger, lighter, and more elastic structures.
Innovation Solution
A control system that determines a manipulated variable based on the difference between a reference variable and a controlled variable, including aircraft acceleration, wind gusts, and flight state variables, using a device with input interfaces for command and controlled variables, and outputs a control signal to actuating systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional cascade control with position control is used, then the control system is simple and reliable, but the dynamic response is slow and cannot meet the requirements of highly dynamic control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the controlled variable from position to acceleration, fundamentally altering the control parameter. This enables the control system to respond to dynamic changes much faster, achieving bandwidths exceeding 10 Hz, while maintaining a relatively simple control structure through direct acceleration feedback
2Productivity
If force- or torque-controlled approach is used, then the system dynamics are improved, but the design is limited compared to complete state vector feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements direct feedback of the controlled variable (acceleration) to the manipulated variable (actuator command). This closed-loop acceleration feedback mechanism enables highly effective control while maintaining design flexibility, as the feedback directly informs the control algorithm about the actual system state without requiring complex state estimation
3Power
If larger, lighter, and more elastic structures are used, then aerodynamic efficiency is improved, but the natural frequencies exceed the dynamics of known control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the control system itself highly dynamic by controlling acceleration directly rather than position. This dynamic control approach enables the system to track and respond to high-frequency structural modes of elastic aircraft structures, with control bandwidths that exceed the natural frequencies of these flexible structures
4Measurement precision
If servo control is used, then actuator control is fast and precise, but flight control limits the overall dynamics of the control system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the flight control loop and actuator control loop into a unified acceleration control system. By controlling acceleration directly and using this single control variable for both flight dynamics and actuator positioning, the system eliminates the bandwidth-limiting effect of cascaded control loops while maintaining precise actuator control
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus for controlling an actuating system of an aircraft in an open-loop and closed-loop manner. The apparatus has a first input interface, which is designed to receive first input data indicating a reference variable, a second input interface, which is designed to receive second input data indicating a controlled variable, and a control output which is designed to output a control signal. The control signal indicates a manipulated variable for an actuating system of an aircraft which is to be controlled by means of the actuating system. The reference variable indicates a target acceleration at a point of the aircraft which is to be controlled by means of the actuating system, and the controlled variable indicates an actual acceleration of the aircraft at the point. The apparatus is designed to determine the manipulated variable, taking into consideration the reference variable and the controlled variable, in particular from the difference between the reference variable and the controlled variable, and to output the control signal corresponding to the manipulated variable via the control output. The invention furthermore relates to an assembly for controlling an actuating system of an aircraft in an open-loop and closed-loop manner, and to a method.