Modeling and multivariable adaptive control of aircraft with synthetic jet actuators

In this paper, modeling and adaptive control of aircraft with synthetic jet actuators are studied. Linearized models of aircraft with synthetic jet actuators are first studied for healthy and ineffective actuators. It is shown that with loss of actuator effectiveness, independently adjustable control effectors have to be involved, and dynamic coupling is inevitable. With a specified equilibrium trajectory, parameters of aircraft models, including the dynamic coupling terms, vary continuously with time. As a demonstration of possible control techniques for such control problems, a multivariable direct adaptive control scheme is developed for such aircraft systems with some chosen operation conditions. For each operation condition, a reference system is constructed and will be switched to when under the corresponding operation condition. Such a control scheme ensures closed-loop stability and asymptotic tracking for the considered system. The robustness of such an adaptive control scheme against continuous parameter variations is also analyzed, and closed-loop stability can be guaranteed with robust adaptation.