The electronic control system of today has increased in importance within automotive technologies. These electronic control technologies have evolved with the development of several types of control systems that have been recognized for their roles in...
The electronic control system of today has increased in importance within automotive technologies. These electronic control technologies have evolved with the development of several types of control systems that have been recognized for their roles in passenger safety improvement and driving convenience. One example of a significant change in electronic control systems is the development of, the Drive-By-Wire (DBW) system. The DBW system provides automotive control via electrical wiring as opposed to the mechanical methods traditional used in the automotive industry in years past.
Similar to the automotive industry, the electronic control systems of today have become increasingly important within the aircraft industry. The Fly-By-Wire (FBW) system has replaced the old mechanical control system of the past and provides aircraft control through electrical wiring and digital control algorithms. The major benefit of FBW system is the ability to tailor the system's characteristics at each point in the aircraft's flight envelope achieving consistent aircraft response over a wide range of airspeeds and altitudes. This tailoring is achieved withing the floght control systems's 'control laws', which provides feedback gain scheduling as a function of flight condition. The development of the high performance digital computer for aircraft flight control has provided the capability to implement these complex algorithms within modern aircraft.
To achieve the benefits of implementing these complex algorithms, it is essential to establish an appropriate control law architecture. Identification of the proper control law architecture is fundamental to the success of the system and requires knowledge of overall system components, airframe aerodynamics, feedback control theory, and flight dynamics. Another factor affecting control systems design is the structural flexibility of operational vehicle. The vehicle's structural mode characteristics can interact with the flight control system's feedback architecture resulting in closed loop instabilities at the structural mode frequencies of the aircraft. Knowledge of the vehicle's structural flexibility and its interaction with the feedback control system is important to ensure overall closed loop system remains stable.
This paper discusses a method for measuring the interaction between the vehicle's structural modes and control systems's feedback architecture through a structural coupling test. It also addresses structural coupling filter design required if structural coupling due to operational vehicle flexibility must be compensated for within the control system architecture.
This paper consists of four sections. Section I provides the background information related to this paper. Section II presents the theory behind structural coupling testing and structural filter design. Section III provides the structural coupling test procedure and filter design method using test results to achieve the desired stability margins. This section also covers the pass/fail criteria of structural coupling test, the effects of digitizing a structural coupling filter within the design algorithms and methods of filter verification. Section IV presents the conclusions and recommendations resulting from this paper.