SIMULATION, PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN OF AN AIRCRAFT USING UNIFIED MATHEMATICAL MODEL

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of mathematical model of an aircraft dynamics in flight mechanics related studies. A flight dynamics mathematical model represents the motion of a flight vehicle in six-degree-of-freedom. All forces and moments governing the flight motion are specifically represented in the equations, such as inertial force and moment, aerodynamics force and moment, propulsive force and moment, flight control force and moment, and external disturbances. In addition, the mathematical model also includes a set of kinematic and navigation equations, to provide a thorough representation of vehicle motions and movements in the air. Another way to obtain the mathematical representation of an aircraft dynamic is by employing system identification procedure, on which the measured input-output data of the system is analyzed and processed to obtain the parameters of the system. The mathematical model also can be used for simulating and analyzing the dynamic behavior of an aircraft. The simulation is usually conducted by implementing the model into numerical simulation software, such as MATLAB/Simulink. Another implementation of the unified mathematical model presented in this paper is for designing flight control system. In this paper, an aircraft such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system will be used as a basis for demonstrating how mathematical model an aircraft can be obtained, and how it is further exploited for some analysis and studies in flight mechanics fields.