Pitch Control by LQR for Fixed Wing Aircraft During Microburst Encounter

TL;DR

This paper develops a linear control approach using LQR to mitigate microburst effects on fixed-wing aircraft during flight, demonstrating significant attenuation of pitch and altitude disturbances through simulation.

Contribution

It introduces a linear quadratic regulator-based control method specifically designed for microburst encounter mitigation in fixed-wing aircraft.

Findings

Microburst effects on pitch and altitude are significantly reduced.

The control inputs remain within the aircraft's physical limits.

Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Abstract

In this study, a linear mathematical model representing longitudinal flight dynamics of an airplane is developed and responses of the aircraft during a microburst encounter are investigated. The effects of microburst that are acting on the aircraft are attempted to be suppressed with the elevator control surface of the aircraft, which is controlled by Linear Quadratic Regulator method. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method, numerous numbers of simulation studies is performed. As a result of the simulations, it is observed that effects of microburst on the pitching angle and altitude are significantly attenuated by the proposed control method. In addition, it is confirmed that the elevator control surface movement which provides the necessary controller input is within the physical capabilities of the aircraft.