A review of control strategies used for morphing aircraft applications

Parancheerivilakkathil, Muhammed S.; Pilakkadan, Jafar S.; Ajaj, Rafic M.; Amoozgar, Mohammadreza; Asadi, Davood; Zweiri, Yahya; Friswell, Michael I.

Abstract

This paper reviews the various control algorithms and strategies used for fixed-wing morphing aircraft applications. It is evident from the literature that the development of control algorithms for morphing aircraft technologies focused on three main areas. The first area is related to precise control of the shape of morphing concepts for various flight conditions. The second area is mainly related to the flight dynamics, stability, and control aspects of morphing aircraft. The third area deals mainly with aeroelastic control using morphing concepts either for load alleviation purposes and/or to control the instability boundaries. The design of controllers for morphing aircraft/wings is very challenging due to the large changes that can occur in the structural, aerodynamic, and inertial characteristics. In addition, the type of actuation system and actuation rate/speed can have a significant effect on the design of such controllers. The aerospace community is in strong need of such a critical review especially as morphing aircraft technologies move from fundamental research at a low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to real-life applications. This critical review aims to identify research gaps and propose future directions. In this paper, research activities/papers are categorized according to the control strategy used. This ranges from simple Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers at one end to complex robust adaptive controllers and deep learning algorithms at the other end. This includes analytical, computational, and experimental studies. In addition, the various dynamic models used and their fidelities are highlighted and discussed.

Citation

Parancheerivilakkathil, M. S., Pilakkadan, J. S., Ajaj, R. M., Amoozgar, M., Asadi, D., Zweiri, Y., & Friswell, M. I. (2024). A review of control strategies used for morphing aircraft applications. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 37(4), 436-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2023.12.035

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Dec 29, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 3, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-04
• Deposit Date: Jan 4, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Journal: Chinese Journal of Aeronautics
• Print ISSN: 1000-9361
• Electronic ISSN: 1000-9361
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 436-463
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2023.12.035
• Keywords: Control strategies, Morphing aircraft, Shape morphing, Flight dynamics, Aeroelasticity
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/29269526
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1000936123004557?via%3Dihub