Modeling, simulation, analysis and control of close formation flight

紧密编队飞行的建模控制与仿真

¹ School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710129 China
² Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Flight Control and Simulation Technology, Xi'an 710129, China

Received: 16 December 2021

Abstract

This paper focuses on the aerodynamic characteristics of aircraft close formation flight. The formation model for small unmanned aircraft is studied, and the disturbance of the wake induced velocity generated by the leader aircraft on the tail aircraft is analyzed. It is found that the lead aircraft has a significant effect on the lift and drag of the tail aircraft. It is also demonstrated that the aerodynamic characteristics of the tail plane can be improved when the following plane is in the proper position of the leader in formation flight. Precise position control of the tail plane in general flight operations is achieved under the influence of the tail vortex. Firstly, a model for the wake vortex of the leader was established, and then computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software was used to simulate the two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to verify the accuracy of the model. A control algorithm was designed to realize the stability of formation flight. Mathematical simulation and validation were performed. The designed control law is able to keep the tail plane in the appropriate position in the formation flight so that the tail plane is subjected to the maximum lift.

摘要

对某小型无人机编队模型进行了研究, 分析了长机产生的尾流对僚机的扰动。研究发现, 长机对僚机的升力和阻力有显著影响。在编队飞行中, 当僚机处于适当位置时, 气动特性可以得到改善。建立了长机尾流涡的数学模型, 利用计算流体动力学(CFD)软件对2架无人机进行了仿真, 验证了数学模型的准确性。为了实现紧密编队飞行的稳定性, 设计了一种控制算法, 并且进行了数学仿真和验证, 所设计的控制律能够使僚机在编队飞行中保持在合适队形, 使得僚机获得最大的升力。