Simulation analysis of hypersonic vehicle flight control based on back-stepping and dynamic inversion

Flight control technology of hypersonic vehicles is very difficult because hypersonic vehicles have many features, such as strong nonlinearity, variable coupling, parameter variation, and uncertainties. In this paper, based on the generic hypersonic vehicle longitudinal model, two flight control methods based on back-stepping and dynamic inversion control respectively are simulated and analyzed. For the back-stepping based control, the back-stepping method is introduced to design control inputs for subsystems of the flight model. For the dynamic inversion based control, an inversion system is obtained by using feed-back linearization, and then controllers are designed by using linear control methods. Simulation of the hypersonic vehicle longitudinal model and two control methods are carried out in this paper. The tracking control performances of velocity and altitude of the hypersonic vehicle are verified. Then the two control methods are analyzed and evaluated in terms of control performances and engineering practicability. The back-stepping based control has high response speed and precision, and it is very suitable for on-line control. The dynamic inversion based control has a stable dynamic performance and better portability.