Robust and optimal control of helicopter systems

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with controller design for helicopter systems. The emphasis will be focused on three parts: control of single helicopter; control of single helicopter with a hanging load; and control of multi-lift systems. First, we will investigate the application of a nonlinear decoupling method to synthesize flight-control laws for a hovering helicopter. Current practice of controller design for this application has several drawbacks since it needs more than one controller and requires gain scheduling and model switching schemes. Also, as the helicopter moves away from the design trim condition, the flight control system performance degrades rapidly. Using noidinear noninteracting control design will avoid these problems. In this thesis, we will apply a synthesis decoupling control design method to helicopter systems. Simulation results will demonstrate the robustness of the proposed decoupling algorithm.