A Comparison of Control Allocation Methods for the F-15 ACTIVE Research Aircraft Utilizing Real-Time Piloted Simulations

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dc.contributor.authorScalera, Kevin R.en
dc.contributor.committeechairDurham, Wayne C.en
dc.contributor.committeememberLutze, Frederick H. Jr.en
dc.contributor.committeememberAnderson, Mark R.en
dc.contributor.departmentAerospace and Ocean Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:41:48Zen
dc.date.adate1999-08-14en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:41:48Zen
dc.date.issued1999-07-09en
dc.date.rdate2000-08-14en
dc.date.sdate1999-07-22en
dc.description.abstractA comparison of two control allocation methods is performed utilizing the F-15 ACTIVE research vehicle. The control allocator currently implemented on the aircraft is replaced in the simulation with a control allocator that accounts for both control effector positions and rates. Validation of the performance of this Moment Rate Allocation scheme through real-time piloted simulations is desired for an aircraft with a high fidelity control law and a larger control effector suite. A more computationally efficient search algorithm that alleviates the timing concerns associated with the early work in Direct Allocation is presented. This new search algorithm, deemed the Bisecting, Edge-Search Algorithm, utilizes concepts derived from pure geometry to efficiently determine the intersection of a line with a convex faceted surface. Control restoring methods, designed to drive control effectors towards a ``desired" configuration with the control power that remains after the satisfaction of the desired moments, are discussed. Minimum-sideforce restoring is presented. In addition, the concept of variable step size restoring algorithms is introduced and shown to yield the best tradeoff between restoring convergence speed and control chatter reduction. Representative maneuvers are flown to evaluate the control allocator's ability to perform during realistic tasks. An investigation is performed into the capability of the control allocators to reconfigure the control effectors in the event of an identified control failure. More specifically, once the control allocator has been forced to reconfigure the controls, an investigation is undertaken into possible performance degradation to determine whether or not the aircraft will still demonstrate acceptable flying qualities. A direct comparison of the performance of each of the two control allocators in a reduced global position limits configuration is investigated. Due to the highly redundant control effector suite of the F-15 ACTIVE, the aircraft, utilizing Moment Rate Allocation, still exhibits satisfactory performance in this configuration. The ability of Moment Rate Allocation to utilize the full moment generating capabilities of a suite of controls is demonstrated. NOTE: (02/2011) An updated copy of this ETD was added after there were patron reports of problems with the file.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-072299-150703en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-072299-150703/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/34113en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartthesis.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartthesis_2011.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectReconfigurationen
dc.subjectACTIVEen
dc.subjectControl Allocationen
dc.subjectAircraft Dynamicsen
dc.titleA Comparison of Control Allocation Methods for the F-15 ACTIVE Research Aircraft Utilizing Real-Time Piloted Simulationsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineAerospace and Ocean Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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