ROBUST-CONTROL LAW DESIGN FOR LATERAL-DIRECTIONAL MODES OF AN F-16 MATV USING MU-SYNTHESIS AND DYNAMIC INVERSION/

A manual flight control system for the lateral-directional dynamics of a modern fighter aircraft incorporating thrust vectoring is presented . Design goals are posed in terms of maintaining acceptable flying qua lities during high angle of attack (alpha) manoeuvring while also achi eving robustness to model parameter variations and unmodelled dynamics over the entire flight envelope. The need for gain scheduling a dynam ic controller is eliminated by using an inner loop dynamic inversion/o uter loop structured singular value (mu)-synthesis control structure w hich separately addresses operating envelope variations and robustness concerns, respectively. Performance objectives are based on commandin g sideslip angle and stability axis roll rate. Realistic representatio ns of both structured (real parametric) and unstructured uncertainty a re included in the design/anlysis process. A flight condition dependen t control selector maps generalized controls to physical control defle ctions, considering actuator redundancy, effectiveness and saturation issues. An angle of attack dependent command prefilter shapes commands to produce desired responses. Structured singular value analysis, low -order equivalent system (LOES) fits, and linear step responses demons trate satisfaction of design goals. Simulation shows excellent control at both low and high angles of attack. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.