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Experimental mitigation of large-amplitude transverse gusts via closed-loop pitch control

Girguis Sedky1, Antonios Gementzopoulos1, Francis D. Lagor2, and Anya R. Jones1

  • 1Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 2Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 8, 064701 – Published 8 June, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.8.064701

Abstract

Air vehicles of all scales are susceptible to large-amplitude gusts that may lead to vehicle damage and instability. Therefore, effective physics-based control strategies and an understanding of the dominant unsteady flow physics underpinning gust encounters are desired to improve safety and reliability of flight in these conditions. To this end, this paper develops and experimentally demonstrates a proportional output-feedback lift regulation strategy based on the classical unsteady aerodynamic theories of Wagner and Küssner for wings encountering large-amplitude transverse gusts without a priori knowledge of gust strength or onset time. The tested vertical gust velocities ranged between 25% and 71% of the freestream speed. This strategy is found to successfully generalize to gusts of different strengths and directions, as well as wings at pre- and post-stall angles of attack. In addition, this paper applies dynamical systems analysis to Wagner's aerodynamic model to reveal the effect of the pitch-axis location, pitch input, and closed-loop feedback gains on the stability and robustness of the system along with the flow physics responsible. The real-time output feedback control strategy is experimentally tested in a water tow tank facility equipped with a transverse gust generator. Time-resolved force and flow-field measurements are used to discover the salient flow physics during these encounters and illustrate how closed-loop actuation mitigates their lift transients.

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Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

synopsis

Pitch-Perfect Corrections for Turbulence

Published 8 June, 2023

A new system could allow autonomous aircraft to correct the pitch of their wings to account for gusts of wind that abruptly change lift in real time.

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Article Text

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Fluids 8, 064701– Published 8 June, 2023
  • Received 25 January 2023
  • Accepted 12 April 2023
Article part of CHORUS
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