Trajectory Optimization of Morphing Aerial Vehicles Based on Mid-Fidelity Aeroservoelastic Models

TL;DR

This paper develops a trajectory optimization framework for morphing aerial vehicles using a mid-fidelity aeroservoelastic model, demonstrating significant performance improvements and control cost reductions in various maneuvers.

Contribution

It introduces a physics-based control cost model integrated with a coupled structural and aerodynamic simulation for optimized morphing wing trajectories.

Findings

Morphing wings expand the flight envelope by decoupling lift and pitch.

Dynamic maneuvers show increased altitude gain and lateral displacement with morphing.

Obstacle avoidance benefits include a 65.65% reduction in control cost.

Abstract

Morphing aerial vehicles offer enhanced maneuverability and fuel efficiency compared to fixed-wing configurations. However, the trade-off between performance gains and control cost in dynamic, unsteady maneuvers remains under-explored. This paper addresses this by integrating a trajectory optimization framework with a mid-fidelity aeroservoelastic model, coupling nonlinear multi-body structural dynamics with an unsteady vortex lattice method. A physics-based control cost model captures the energy required to overcome instantaneous aerodynamic hinge moments. Applied to an aircraft with flexible, high-aspect-ratio wings and morphing winglets, the framework evaluates trim, maneuver performance, and lateral obstacle avoidance. Results show morphing wings significantly expand the flight envelope by decoupling lift and pitch requirements. In dynamic maneuvers, morphing yields distinct trade-offs: a pull-up maneuver increased altitude gain by 28.95% at a higher control cost, while a banked turn improved lateral displacement by 8.62% while reducing control cost by 13.40%. Notably, in obstacle avoidance, morphing reduced total control cost by 65.65%. This efficiency stems from exploiting aero-mechanical coupling via trajectory optimization to identify coordinated control strategies that offload aerodynamic loads. These findings underscore wing morphing's potential for achieving extreme maneuvers with superior energy efficiency.