Rotorcraft control laws for sea-based operations
A method and system of controlling a rotorcraft for sea-based operations includes receiving sensed information indicative of an operation of the rotorcraft; receiving operator commands, ship models and system constraints; and determining a solution to an optimization function that avoids violating the system constraints, the solution being representative of control command signals for augmenting a flight response of the rotorcraft to a ship.
1. A method of controlling a rotorcraft for sea-based operations, comprising:
receiving, with a processor, sensed information indicative of an operation of the rotorcraft;
receiving, with the processor, operator commands, ship models and system constraints including relative velocity limits between the ship and the rotorcraft, accuracy of a landing position on the ship, landing gear structural integrity, sink rate of the rotorcraft, and impact velocity of the rotorcraft on the ship;
determining, with a model predictive control (MPC) prediction module that employs a model based feedforward control utilizing a prediction algorithm, a solution to an optimization function that avoids violating the system constraints, the solution being representative of control command signals for augmenting a flight response of the rotorcraft to a ship;
determining, with the processor, a solution to continuously update the system constraints that optimize a cost function utilizing MPC theory; and
commanding the displacement of servos and linkages for controlling said rotorcraft.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optimization function includes mathematical terms for command tracking errors and control of an actuator that is associated with the rotorcraft.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the sensed information further comprises receiving at least one of angular rate, attitude response, and acceleration rate for the rotorcraft.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining at least one of a relative position and motion between the ship and the rotorcraft.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ship models further comprises a ship airwake model and a ship motion model.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the ship airwake model comprises a model of an air flow field surrounding the ship.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the ship motion model comprises a model of a response of the ship advancing at constant forward speed.
8. A control system of a rotorcraft during sea-based operations, comprising:
rotors, each rotor comprising a plurality of blades;
a processor; and
memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to:
receive, with the processor, sensed information indicative of an operation of the rotorcraft;
receive, with the processor, operator commands, ship models and system constraints including relative velocity limits between the ship and the rotorcraft, accuracy of a landing position on the ship, landing gear structural integrity, sink rate of the rotorcraft, and impact velocity of the rotorcraft on the ship;
determine, with a model predictive control (MPC) prediction module that employs a model based feedforward control utilizing a prediction algorithm, a solution to an optimization function that avoids violating the system constraints, the solution being representative of control command signals for controlling the rotors of the rotorcraft approaching a ship;
determine, with the processor, a solution to continuously update the system constraints that optimize a cost function utilizing MPC theory; and
command the displacement of servos and linkages for controlling said rotorcraft.
9. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the optimization function includes mathematical terms for command tracking errors and control of at least one actuator that is associated with the rotors.
10. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to receive at least one of angular rate, attitude response, and acceleration rate for the rotorcraft.
11. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to determine at least one of a relative position and motion between the ship and the rotorcraft.
12. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the ship models further comprises a ship airwake model and a ship motion model.
13. The control system of claim 12 , wherein the ship airwake model comprises a model of an air flow field surrounding the ship.
14. The control system of claim 12 , wherein the ship motion model comprises a model of a response of the ship advancing at constant forward speed.