Dynamic Stability and Flight Control of Biomimetic Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle

This paper proposes an approach to analyze the dynamic stability and develop trajectory-tracking controllers for flapping-wing micro air vehicle (FWMAV). A multibody dynamics simulation framework coupled with a modified quasi-steady aerodynamic model was implemented for stability analysis, which was appended with flight control block for accomplishing various flight objectives. A gradient-based trim search algorithm was employed to obtain the trim conditions by solving the fully coupled nonlinear equations of motion at various flight speeds. Eigenmode analysis showed instability that grew with the flight speed in longitudinal dynamics. Using the trim conditions, we linearized dynamic equations of FWMAV to obtain the optimal gain matrices for various flight speeds using the linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) technique. The gain matrices from each of the linearized equations were used for gain scheduling with respect to forward flight speed. The reference tracking augmented LQR control was implemented to achieve transition flight tracking that involves hovering, acceleration, and deceleration phases. The control parameters were updated once in a wingbeat cycle and were changed smoothly to avoid any discontinuities during simulations. Moreover, trajectories tracking control was achieved successfully using a dual loop control approach. Control simulations showed that the proposed controllers worked effectively for this fairly nonlinear multibody system.