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Description
This thesis examines themodeling, analysis, and control system design issues for scramjet powered hypersonic vehicles. A nonlinear three degrees of freedom longitudinal model which includes aero-propulsion-elasticity effects was used for all analyses. This model is based upon classical compressible flow and Euler-Bernouli structural concepts. Higher fidelity computational fluid dynamics and

This thesis examines themodeling, analysis, and control system design issues for scramjet powered hypersonic vehicles. A nonlinear three degrees of freedom longitudinal model which includes aero-propulsion-elasticity effects was used for all analyses. This model is based upon classical compressible flow and Euler-Bernouli structural concepts. Higher fidelity computational fluid dynamics and finite element methods are needed for more precise intermediate and final evaluations. The methods presented within this thesis were shown to be useful for guiding initial control relevant design. The model was used to examine the vehicle's static and dynamic characteristics over the vehicle's trimmable region. The vehicle has significant longitudinal coupling between the fuel equivalency ratio (FER) and the flight path angle (FPA). For control system design, a two-input two-output plant (FER - elevator to speed-FPA) with 11 states (including 3 flexible modes) was used. Velocity, FPA, and pitch were assumed to be available for feedback. Aerodynamic heat modeling and design for the assumed TPS was incorporated to original Bolender's model to study the change in static and dynamic properties. De-centralized control stability, feasibility and limitations issues were dealt with the change in TPS elasticity, mass and physical dimension. The impact of elasticity due to TPS mass, TPS physical dimension as well as prolonged heating was also analyzed to understand performance limitations of de-centralized control designed for nominal model.
ContributorsKhatri, Jaidev (Author) / Rodriguez, Armando Antonio (Thesis advisor) / Tsakalis, Konstantinos (Committee member) / Wells, Valana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
Localization tasks using two-way ranging (TWR) are making headway in modern daynavigation applications as an alternative to legacy global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) such as GPS. There is not currently literature that provides a closed-form expression for estimation performance bounds on position and attitude when a TWR system is employed. A Cramer-Rao Lower

Localization tasks using two-way ranging (TWR) are making headway in modern daynavigation applications as an alternative to legacy global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) such as GPS. There is not currently literature that provides a closed-form expression for estimation performance bounds on position and attitude when a TWR system is employed. A Cramer-Rao Lower Bounds (CRLB) is derived for position and orientation estimation using both 2-D and 3-D geometries. A literature review is performed to give background and detail on the tools needed for a thorough analysis of this problem. Popular Least Squares techniques and solutions to Wahba’s problem are compared to the derived bounds as proof of correctness using Monte Carlo simulations. A brief exploration on estimation performance using an Extended Kalman Filter for non-stationary users is also looked at as an introduction to future extensions to this work. The literature Applications like the CHP2 system are discussed as well to show how secure, inexpensive and robust implementation of TWR is highly feasible. i
ContributorsWelker, Samuel (Author) / Bliss, Daniel (Thesis advisor) / Herschfelt, Andrew (Committee member) / Tsakalis, Konstantinos (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Description
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in many applications because of their small size, great mobility and hover performance. This has been a consequence of the fast development of electronics, cheap lightweight flight controllers for accurate positioning and cameras. This thesis describes modeling, control and design of an oblique-cross-quadcopter

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in many applications because of their small size, great mobility and hover performance. This has been a consequence of the fast development of electronics, cheap lightweight flight controllers for accurate positioning and cameras. This thesis describes modeling, control and design of an oblique-cross-quadcopter platform for indoor-environments.

One contribution of the work was the design of a new printed-circuit-board (PCB) flight controller (called MARK3). Key features/capabilities are as follows:

(1) a Teensy 3.2 microcontroller with 168MHz overclock –used for communications, full-state estimation and inner-outer loop hierarchical rate-angle-speed-position control,

(2) an on-board MEMS inertial-measurement-unit (IMU) which includes an LSM303D (3DOF-accelerometer and magnetometer), an L3GD20 (3DOF-gyroscope) and a BMP180 (barometer) for attitude estimation (barometer/magnetometer not used),

(3) 6 pulse-width-modulator (PWM) output pins supports up to 6 rotors

(4) 8 PWM input pins support up to 8-channel 2.4 GHz transmitter/receiver for manual control,

(5) 2 5V servo extension outputs for other requirements (e.g. gimbals),

(6) 2 universal-asynchronous-receiver-transmitter (UART) serial ports - used by flight controller to process data from Xbee; can be used for accepting outer-loop position commands from NVIDIA TX2 (future work),

(7) 1 I2C-serial-protocol two-wire port for additional modules (used to read data from IMU at 400 Hz),

(8) a 20-pin port for Xbee telemetry module connection; permits Xbee transceiver on desktop PC to send position/attitude commands to Xbee transceiver on quadcopter.

The quadcopter platform consists of the new MARK3 PCB Flight Controller, an ATG-250 carbon-fiber frame (250 mm), a DJI Snail propulsion-system (brushless-three-phase-motor, electronic-speed-controller (ESC) and propeller), an HTC VIVE Tracker and RadioLink R9DS 9-Channel 2.4GHz Receiver. This platform is completely compatible with the HTC VIVE Tracking System (HVTS) which has 7ms latency, submillimeter accuracy and a much lower price compared to other millimeter-level tracking systems.

The thesis describes nonlinear and linear modeling of the quadcopter’s 6DOF rigid-body dynamics and brushless-motor-actuator dynamics. These are used for hierarchical-classical-control-law development near hover. The HVTS was used to demonstrate precision hover-control and path-following. Simulation and measured flight-data are shown to be similar. This work provides a foundation for future precision multi-quadcopter formation-flight-control.
ContributorsLu, Shi (Author) / Rodriguez, Armando A. (Thesis advisor) / Tsakalis, Konstantinos (Committee member) / Si, Jennie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
VTOL drones were designed and built at the beginning of the 20th century for military applications due to easy take-off and landing operations. Many companies like Lockheed, Convair, NASA and Bell Labs built their own aircrafts but only a few from them came in to the market. Usually, flight automation

VTOL drones were designed and built at the beginning of the 20th century for military applications due to easy take-off and landing operations. Many companies like Lockheed, Convair, NASA and Bell Labs built their own aircrafts but only a few from them came in to the market. Usually, flight automation starts from first principles modeling which helps in the controller design and dynamic analysis of the system.

In this project, a VTOL drone with a shape similar to a Convair XFY-1 is studied and the primary focus is stabilizing and controlling the flight path of the drone in
its hover and horizontal flying modes. The model of the plane is obtained using first principles modeling and controllers are designed to stabilize the yaw, pitch and roll rotational motions.

The plane is modeled for its yaw, pitch and roll rotational motions. Subsequently, the rotational dynamics of the system are linearized about the hover flying mode, hover to horizontal flying mode, horizontal flying mode, horizontal to hover flying mode for ease of implementation of linear control design techniques. The controllers are designed based on an H∞ loop shaping procedure and the results are verified on the actual nonlinear model for the stability of the closed loop system about hover flying, hover to horizontal transition flying, horizontal flying, horizontal to hover transition flying. An experiment is conducted to study the dynamics of the motor by recording the PWM input to the electronic speed controller as input and the rotational speed of the motor as output. A theoretical study is also done to study the thrust generated by the propellers for lift, slipstream velocity analysis, torques acting on the system for various thrust profiles.
ContributorsRAGHURAMAN, VIGNESH (Author) / Tsakalis, Konstantinos (Thesis advisor) / Rodriguez, Armando (Committee member) / Yong, Sze Zheng (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
This thesis describes a longitudinal dynamic analysis of a large, twin-fuselage aircraft that is connected solely by the main wing with two tails unattached by a horizontal stabilizer. The goal of the analysis is to predict the aircraft’s behavior in various flight conditions. Starting with simple force diagrams

This thesis describes a longitudinal dynamic analysis of a large, twin-fuselage aircraft that is connected solely by the main wing with two tails unattached by a horizontal stabilizer. The goal of the analysis is to predict the aircraft’s behavior in various flight conditions. Starting with simple force diagrams of the longitudinal directions, six equations of motion are derived: three equations defining the left fuselage’s motion and three equations defining the right fuselage’s motion. The derivation uses a state-vector approach. Linearization of the system utilizes a Taylor series expansion about different trim points to analyze the aircraft for small disturbances about the equilibrium. The state transition matrix shows that there is a coupling effect from the reactionary moments caused by the two empennages through the connection of the main wing. By analyzing the system in multiple flight conditions: take-off, climb, cruise, and post-separation of payload, a general flight envelope can be developed which will give insight as to how the aircraft will behave and the overall controllability of the aircraft. The four flight conditions are tested with published Boeing 747 data confirmed from multiple sources. All four flight conditions contain unstable phugoid modes that imply instability increases with decreasing torsional spring stiffness of the wing or as the structural damping drops below 4%.
ContributorsSpiller, Ryan K (Author) / Wells, Valana (Thesis advisor) / Garrett, Frederick (Committee member) / Grewal, Anoop (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
This thesis discusses the equilibrium conditions and static stability of a rotorcraft kite with a single main tether flying in steady wind conditions. A dynamic model with five degrees of freedom is derived using Lagrangian formulation, which explicitly avoids any constraint force in the equations of motion. The longitudinal static

This thesis discusses the equilibrium conditions and static stability of a rotorcraft kite with a single main tether flying in steady wind conditions. A dynamic model with five degrees of freedom is derived using Lagrangian formulation, which explicitly avoids any constraint force in the equations of motion. The longitudinal static stability of the steady flight under constant wind conditions is analyzed analytically from the equilibrium conditions. The rotorcraft kite orientation and tether angle are correlated through the equation Γ=δ-ϑ, a necessary condition for equilibrium. A rotorcraft kite design with 3kg mass and 1.25m rotor radius is found to be longitudinally statically stable at 25,000ft with Γ>〖65〗^0 for wind speeds above 19m/s.
ContributorsHernandez, Brendan (Author) / Wells, Valana (Thesis advisor) / Garrett, Frederick (Committee member) / Grewal, Anoop S (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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Description
An airborne, tethered, multi-rotor wind turbine, effectively a rotorcraft kite, provides one platform for accessing the energy in high altitude winds. The craft is maintained at altitude by its rotors operating in autorotation, and its equilibrium attitude and dynamic performance are affected by the aerodynamic rotor forces, which in turn

An airborne, tethered, multi-rotor wind turbine, effectively a rotorcraft kite, provides one platform for accessing the energy in high altitude winds. The craft is maintained at altitude by its rotors operating in autorotation, and its equilibrium attitude and dynamic performance are affected by the aerodynamic rotor forces, which in turn are affected by the orientation and motion of the craft. The aerodynamic performance of such rotors can vary significantly depending on orientation, influencing the efficiency of the system. This thesis analyzes the aerodynamic performance of an autorotating rotor through a range of angles of attack covering those experienced by a typical autogyro through that of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. To study the behavior of such rotors, an analytical model using the blade element theory coupled with momentum theory was developed. The model uses a rigid-rotor assumption and is nominally limited to cases of small induced inflow angle and constant induced velocity. The model allows for linear twist. In order to validate the model, several rotors -- off-the-shelf model-aircraft propellers -- were tested in a low speed wind tunnel. Custom built mounts allowed rotor angles of attack from 0 to 90 degrees in the test section, providing data for lift, drag, thrust, horizontal force, and angular velocity. Experimental results showed increasing thrust and angular velocity with rising pitch angles, whereas the in-plane horizontal force peaked and dropped after a certain value. The analytical results revealed a disagreement with the experimental trends, especially at high pitch angles. The discrepancy was attributed to the rotor operating in turbulent wake and vortex ring states at high pitch angles, where momentum theory has proven to be invalid. Also, aerodynamic design constants, which are not precisely known for the test propellers, have an underlying effect on the analytical model. The developments of the thesis suggest that a different analytical model may be needed for high rotor angles of attack. However, adding a term for resisting torque to the model gives analytical results that are similar to the experimental values.
ContributorsHota, Piyush (Author) / Wells, Valana L. (Thesis advisor) / Calhoun, Ronald (Committee member) / Garrett, Frederick (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) systems have become a crucial component of aeronautical and commercial applications alike. Quadcopter systems are rather convenient to analyze and design controllers for, owing to symmetry in body dynamics. In this work, a quadcopter model at hover equilibrium is derived, using both high and low

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) systems have become a crucial component of aeronautical and commercial applications alike. Quadcopter systems are rather convenient to analyze and design controllers for, owing to symmetry in body dynamics. In this work, a quadcopter model at hover equilibrium is derived, using both high and low level control. The low level control system is designed to track reference Euler angles (roll, pitch and yaw) as shown in previous work [1],[2]. The high level control is designed to track reference X, Y, and Z axis states [3]. The objective of this paper is to model, design and simulate platooning (separation) control for a fleet of 6 quadcopter units, each comprising of high and low level control systems, using a leader-follower approach. The primary motivation of this research is to examine the ”accordion effect”, a phenomenon observed in leader-follower systems due to which positioning or spacing errors arise in follower vehicles due to sudden changes in lead vehicle velocity. It is proposed that the accordion effect occurs when lead vehicle information is not directly communicated with the rest of the system [4][5] . In this paper, the effect of leader acceleration feedback is observed for the quadcopter platoon. This is performed by first designing a classical platoon controller for a nominal case, where communication within the system is purely ad-hoc (i.e from one quadcopter to it’s immediate successor in the fleet). Steady state separation/positioning errors for each member of the fleet are observed and documented during simulation. Following this analysis, lead vehicle acceleration is provided to the controller (as a feed forward term), to observe the extent of it’s effect on steady state separation, specifically along tight maneuvers. Thus the key contribution of this work is a controller that stabilizes a platoon of quadcopters in the presence of the accordion effect, when employing a leader-follower approach. The modeling shown in this paper builds on previous research to design a low costquadcopter platform, the Mark 3 copter [1]. Prior to each simulation, model nonlinearities and hardware constants are measured or derived from the Mark 3 model, in an effort to observe the working of the system in the presence of realistic hardware constraints. The system is designed in compliance with Robot Operating System (ROS) and the Micro Air Vehicle Link (MAVLINK) communication protocol.
ContributorsSrinivasan, Anshuman (Author) / Rodriguez, Armando A. (Thesis advisor) / Si, Jennie (Committee member) / Tsakalis, Konstantinos (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021