Fuzzy logic control techniques are investigated for applications in the int
elligent re-entry flight control of the ESA-NASA crew return vehicle. Three
PD-Mamdani fuzzy controllers are constructed to control the inner-loop att
itude dynamics, simulated by a fully nonlinear 3 degree-of-freedom simulato
r of the CRV. Each controller uses an angle tracking error and its derivati
ve to calculate a commanded control surface deflection of the simulator. Th
e input-domains are partitioned with 5 membership functions, resulting in 2
5 fuzzy rules for each rule-base. The output-domains are partitioned with 9
membership functions. The Mamdani controllers use a standard max-min infer
ence process and a fast center of area method to calculate the crisp contro
l signals. Simulation results show the ability to track a reference traject
ory with acceptable performance, though the real strength of a nonlinear fu
zzy logic controller is yet to be proven with more demanding benchmark traj
ectories. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.