Application of active disturbance rejection control in high-angle-of-attack maneuver for aircraft with thrust vector

The super maneuverability of aircraft is a key factor determining its success or defeat in air combat. The analysis and control of aircraft post stall maneuvering at a high angle of attack can greatly improve the aircraft maneuverability. When the aircraft performs a high-angle-of-attack maneuver, the aircraft's attack angle far exceeds the stall angle; thus, the aerodynamic and aerodynamic moment characteristics are not only strongly nonlinear but also have delay effects and strong coupling characteristics. Moreover, the linear control method based on the linearization of small disturbance hardly satisfies the control requirement because there is no typical leveling state. Traditional nonlinear control methods include nonlinear dynamic inverse, sliding mode control, and robust control for high-angle-of-attack maneuvering of aircraft. However, these methods rely on the accurate model of the aircraft and are greatly affected by modeling errors. To realize the high-angle-of-attack maneuver control for an aircraft with thrust vector, a three-channel decoupling control strategy based on active disturbance rejection control was proposed herein. Based on the public data of the third-generation fighter F16, a thrust vector model was developed. The desired triaxial moments were generated by the thrust vector nozzle combination. Active disturbance rejection controllers were independently designed in longitudinal, lateral, and heading channels. The unmodeled dynamics, uncertainty, and strong coupling between the channels were regarded as total disturbance, which was estimated and compensated online. The angular rate damping feedback term made the closed-loop dynamics of the original aircraft approximate a generalized object, which reduced the design order of the active disturbance rejection controller. As two typical post-stall maneuvers, Cobra maneuver and Herbst maneuver were selected for control strategy verification. The numerical simulation results show that the designed three-channel independent active disturbance rejection controllers can eliminate the strong coupling among channels and realize a high-angle-of attack maneuver for the aircraft with thrust vector. The Monte Carlo simulation results show that the control strategy has good robustness.