LQ-based design of the inner loop lateral control for a large flexible BWB-type aircraft

Two LQ-based MIMO controllers (LQG and LQI architectures) for lateral inner loop flight control for a large BlendedWing Body (BWB) passenger aircraft pre-design model are presented. The main control goals are Dutch roll mode damping, coordinated turn, and roll response shaping. An open loop analysis shows that traditional SISO design faces fundamental limitations, so both controller variants are designed as MIMO controllers. Their performance is tuned and evaluated, and their specific properties are discussed and compared. The controllers are validated on various fuel and payload mass cases and fulfill all demanded goals. Ongoing and future research seeks to reduce structural loads and increase passenger comfort using robust control design methods.