Aircraft Modal Suppression Using Non-Uniform Gust Observers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft modal suppression systems fail to accurately capture non-uniform gust contributions, leading to inadequate performance in reducing aircraft vibrations induced by turbulence.
Innovation Solution
Aircraft modal suppression methods utilizing a non-uniform gust model to generate observers from on-board inertial sensor signals, which are used to determine control law commands for control surfaces to reduce vibrations caused by both uniform and non-uniform lateral and vertical wind gusts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If uniform gust models are used in modal suppression control laws, then the control system design is simplified, but the accuracy of capturing real gust effects is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The gust model is segmented into multiple components: uniform lateral gusts, non-uniform lateral gusts, and non-uniform vertical gusts. Each component is modeled separately with specific mathematical formulations to capture different physical characteristics, allowing accurate representation of complex gust effects while maintaining systematic design approach
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the aircraft experience different gust characteristics. The model applies local quality by distinguishing between gust effects at various locations (e.g., wing root vs. tip, fuselage sections) and using position-dependent parameters to accurately represent spatial variations in gust penetration
2Reliability
If non-uniform gust models are used to accurately capture gust penetration, then vibration reduction performance is improved, but the control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The modal suppression system uses feedback from aircraft response measurements (accelerometers, rate gyros) to continuously estimate gust conditions and adjust control surface commands. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the system to adapt to varying gust conditions and maintain effective vibration suppression despite the complexity of non-uniform gust modeling
Solution Approach 2:
A mathematical intermediary model (the non-uniform gust penetration model) is introduced to translate measured aircraft responses into estimated gust characteristics. This intermediary enables the control system to infer gust conditions without direct measurement, bridging the gap between simple sensors and complex control requirements
3Device complexity
If only lateral wind gusts are considered, then the control law design is simpler, but vertical wind gust contributions are not addressed
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed with multi-functionality to handle multiple gust types simultaneously. The control law incorporates both lateral and vertical gust compensation mechanisms, allowing a single system to address diverse turbulence conditions (lateral gusts, vertical gusts, and their combinations) that would otherwise require separate specialized systems
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of aircraft modal suppression informed by an underlying non-uniform vertical turbulence model and uniform lateral turbulence model. The systems and methods include receiving a plurality of signals from on-board inertial sensors of an aircraft, utilizing the plurality of signals to generate a plurality of observers, utilizing the observers to determine a control law command for controlling one or more control surfaces of the aircraft, and moving the one or more control surfaces of the aircraft in accordance with the determined control law command such that lateral mode vibrations of the aircraft are diminished.