The Role Of Modeling And Flight Testing In Rotorcraft Parameter Identification

The importance of recognizing that each lower-order model used for rotorcraft parameter identification has a limited range of applicability is illustrated in some detail. Examples are given to illustrate the use of conditioning the test input signals and the potential of using multi-axis test inputs to enhance the parameter identifiability. The paper discusses the benefits and limitations of using frequency sweeps as flight-test input signals for identification of frequency response for rotorcraft and for the subsequent fitting of parametric transfer-function models. This paper demonstrates the major role played by analytical modeling and the understanding of the physics involved in the rotorcraft flight dynamics, particularly understanding the limit of lower-order models, in achieving successful rotorcraft parameter identification. (Author).

Identification Modeling and Characteristics of Miniature Rotorcraft introduces an approach to developing a simple and effective linear parameterized model of vehicle dynamics using the CIFERâ identification tool created by the Army/NASA Rotorcraft Division. It also presents the first application of the advanced control system optimization tool CONDUITâ to systematically and efficiently tune control laws for a model-scale UAV helicopter against multiple and competing dynamic response criteria. Identification Modeling and Characteristics of Miniature Rotorcraft presents the detailed account of how the theory was developed, the experimentation performed, and how the results were used. This book will serve as a basic and illustrative guide for all students that are interested in developing autonomous flying helicopters.

With the demand for more advanced fighter aircraft, relying on unstable flight mechanical characteristics to gain flight performance, more focus has been put on model-based system engineering to help with the design work. The flight control system design is one important part that relies on this modeling. Therefore, it has become more important to develop flight mechanical models that are highly accurate in the whole flight envelope. For today’s modern fighter aircraft, the basic flight mechanical characteristics change between linear and nonlinear as well as stable and unstable as an effect of the desired capability of advanced maneuvering at subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds. This thesis combines the subject of system identification, which is the art of building mathematical models of dynamical systems based on measurements, with aeronautical engineering in order to find methods for identifying flight mechanical characteristics. Here, some challenging aeronautical identification problems, estimating model parameters from flight-testing, are treated. Two aspects are considered. The first is online identification during flight-testing with the intent to aid the engineers in the analysis process when looking at the flight mechanical characteristics. This will also ensure that enough information is available in the resulting test data for post-flight analysis. Here, a frequency domain method is used. An existing method has been developed further by including an Instrumental Variable approach to take care of noisy data including atmospheric turbulence and by a sensor-fusion step to handle varying excitation during an experiment. The method treats linear systems that can be both stable and unstable working under feedback control. An experiment has been performed on a radio-controlled demonstrator aircraft. For this, multisine input signals have been designed and the results show that it is possible to perform more time-efficient flight-testing compared with standard input signals. The other aspect is post-flight identification of nonlinear characteristics. Here the properties of a parameterized observer approach, using a prediction-error method, are investigated. This approach is compared with four other methods for some test cases. It is shown that this parameterized observer approach is the most robust one with respect to noise disturbances and initial offsets. Another attractive property is that no user parameters have to be tuned by the engineers in order to get the best performance. All methods in this thesis have been validated on simulated data where the system is known, and have also been tested on real flight test data. Both of the investigated approaches show promising results.

Flight test maneuvers are specified for the F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV). The maneuvers were designed for closed loop parameter identification purposes, specifically for longitudinal and lateral linear model parameter estimation at 5, 20, 30, 45, and 60 degrees angle of attack, using the NASA 1A control law. Each maneuver is to be realized by the pilot applying square wave inputs to specific pilot station controls. Maneuver descriptions and complete specifications of the time/amplitude points defining each input are included, along with plots of the input time histories. Morelli, Eugene A. Langley Research Center NAS1-19000; RTOP 505-64-52-01

The design, development, analysis, and evaluation of new aircraft technologies such as fly by wire, unmanned aerial vehicles, and micro air vehicles, necessitate a better understanding of flight mechanics on the part of the aircraft-systems analyst. A text that provides unified coverage of aircraft flight mechanics and systems concept will go a lon