Aircraft flight control method and system

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 10386859
  • Patent Number
    10,386,859
  • Date Filed
    Friday, October 6, 2017
    7 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 20, 2019
    5 years ago
Abstract
A system including a set of computation modules configured to be utilized for computation of gains of at least one piloting law relative to at least one piloting axis of the aircraft and a data capture unit for capturing in at least one computation unit associated with a given piloting axis of the aircraft first values illustrating aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to the given piloting axis, the computation unit being configured to compute the gains of the piloting law utilizing at least a part of the set of computation modules and the computation unit computing inputs intended for at least one actuator of a control surface adapted to control the aircraft relative to the given piloting axis in accordance with a corresponding current control value.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the French patent application No. 1659775 filed on Oct. 11, 2016, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by way of reference.


TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention concerns a flight control method and system for an aircraft, in particular a transport aircraft.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known that modern civil aircraft are controlled by mathematical piloting laws embedded in dedicated digital computers and the inputs of which come from sensors placed on the aircraft and the outputs of which consist of control surface deflection inputs. These control surface deflection inputs are sent to controllers of actuators of these control surfaces.


The entire control chain linking movements of the aircraft and movements of the control surfaces is therefore subject to a time delay depending on the frequency of refreshing the sensors and sampling asynchronisms between the elements of the control chain and the controller of the control surface.


The piloting law is usually computed using a powerful mathematical tool and then transcribed into the computer in the form of gain tables. This method generates multiple steps before the introduction of the gains into the computer and does not enable modification of the objectives of the law in that computer.


Moreover, on a flexible aircraft, the first structural modes of which are situated at frequencies close to those of the piloting modes, it is necessary to apply frequency-domain filtering to the information from the sensors in order to limit aeroservoelastic coupling between the structure of the aircraft and the piloting law.


The mathematical model representing an entire control chain of this kind can be very complex and make the explicit writing of a corresponding piloting law in a computer impossible.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to eliminate this disadvantage. The invention concerns a method for controlling the flight of an aircraft relative to at least one piloting axis of the aircraft utilizing one or more piloting laws that can be generated and written more easily, the aircraft being provided with an electrical flight control system and either at least one control member (control column, rudder pedals, etc.) that can be actuated manually by a pilot of the aircraft at least for control relative to a piloting axis of the aircraft or at least one virtual control member adapted to be controlled by an automatic pilot type device.


According to the invention, the method includes the following steps:

    • an integration step comprising integrating into at least one processing unit of the flight control system of the aircraft a generic set of parameter computation modules, at least some of the computation modules being intended to be used for computation of gains of at least one piloting law relative to at least one given piloting axis, the generic set of computation modules utilizing first values illustrating aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining delay and filter characteristics of a control chain relative to the given piloting axis;
    • at least one data capture step comprising capturing, by means of a data capture unit, in at least one computation unit associated with the given piloting axis of the aircraft, first values illustrating the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining the delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to the piloting axis, the computation unit being configured to compute the gains of the piloting law utilizing at least a part of the generic set of computation modules, the control chain being linearized so as to make it possible to generate the inputs intended for at least one actuator of a control surface adapted to control the aircraft relative to the piloting axis in accordance with at least one current control value of the aircraft, by means of a controlled variable supplied in a raw state (i.e., a non-filtered and non-delayed variable); and
    • at least one control step comprising, during a flight of the aircraft, entering into the computation unit the current control value generated by means of a data generation unit and computing, by means of the computation unit, utilizing this current control value, the inputs for controlling the aircraft relative to the given piloting axis, the inputs computed in this way being transmitted to the actuator of the control surface.


Therefore, due to the invention, the equations of the piloting law are established from a linear representation of the (linearized) control chain, which makes it possible to generate inputs with a non-filtered and non-delayed controlled variable. Moreover, account is taken of a so-called generic set of computation modules, meaning that at least some of those computation modules (that enable computation of particular parameters) can be used to compute inputs relative to different piloting axes (pitch, yaw, roll), using for this purpose appropriate second values (entered by an operator), these second values defining delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to the corresponding piloting axis. The piloting law or laws utilized can be generated and written more easily than in the usual situation mentioned above.


Although not exclusively, the present invention is particularly well suited to a so-called flexible aircraft, in which the first structural modes are situated at frequencies close to those of the piloting modes, notably making it possible to implement appropriate frequency-domain filtering.


The linearized control chain advantageously satisfies the following equation:







δ
u

=


F
equi

·

(



K
uc



u
c


+


K
u


u

+


K
udot



s
·
u


+



K
ui

s



(


u
c

-
u

)



)






in which:

    • δu is the movement of a control surface, generated by this control chain;
    • Fequi is a global filter illustrating the modelling of a filter and all of the delays and asynchronisms of the control chain;
    • uc is the control value;
    • u is the non-filtered and non-delayed controlled variable;
    • s is the Laplace variable; and
    • Kuc, Ku, Kudot and Kui are gains.


At least some of the gains Kuc, Ku, Kudot and Kui are advantageously determined from equations present in the generic set of computation modules.


Moreover, the global filter Fequi advantageously satisfies the following equation:

Fequi=pade(T,2)*B(s)


in which:

    • pade(T,2) is a second order Pade filter; and
    • B(s) is a second order Butterworth filter.


In a preferred embodiment, the generic set of parameter computation modules is utilized by a plurality of control steps to control the flight of the aircraft relative to at least two (and preferably three) of the three piloting axes of the aircraft:

    • the pitch axis;
    • the roll axis; and
    • the yaw axis.


The present invention can therefore be applied to one of the three piloting axes of the aircraft or simultaneously to more than one of them.


In a first application, to control the flight of the aircraft at least relative to a piloting axis corresponding to the pitch axis of the aircraft, the control step advantageously comprises computing an input in the form of a deflection input δq of an elevator of the aircraft from a current control value Nzc corresponding to a load factor Nz that represents a position of a control column that can be actuated by a pilot of the aircraft, using the following equation:







δ





q

=


F

equi






·

(



K
D



Nz
c


+


K
Nz


Nz

+


K
q

·
q

+



K
i

s



(


Nz
c

-
Nz

)



)






in which:

    • Fequi is a global filter;
    • s is the Laplace variable;
    • KNz, Kq and Ki are gains; and
    • KD is a precontrol term.


Moreover, the gains KNz, Kq and Ki and the precontrol term KD are advantageously computed from the following equations:







K
Nz

=



K
u

+


p
α



K
udot



A








K
q

=


K
udot


m

δ





q










K
i

=


K
ui

A








K
D

=

τ






K
i






in which:

    • τ is a time constant value;
    • mδq and pα are parameters obtained from flight mechanics equations;
    • A is a value dependent on mδq and pA; and
    • Kudot, Ku and Kui are parameters that are computed from equations implemented in the generic set of computation modules.


Moreover, in a second application, in addition to or instead of the first application to control the flight of the aircraft at least relative to a piloting axis corresponding to the yaw axis of the aircraft, the control step advantageously comprises computing an input in the form of a deflection input δr of a virtual yaw control surface from a current control value β3 corresponding to a sideslip angle β of the aircraft that represents the position of pedals that can be actuated by a pilot of the aircraft, using the following equation:







δ





r

=


F
equi

·

(



K

β
c




β
c


+


K
β


β

+


K

β





dot




β
.


+



K

β





int


s



(


β
c

-
β

)



)






in which:

    • Fequi is a global filter;
    • s is the Laplace variable;
    • Kβ, Kβdot and Kβint are gains; and
    • Kβc is a precontrol term.


Moreover, the gains Kβ, Kβdot and Kβint and the precontrol term Kβc are advantageously computed from equations implemented in the generic set of computation modules.


Moreover, in a third application in addition to or instead of the first and second applications to control the flight of the aircraft at least relative to a piloting axis corresponding to the roll axis of the aircraft the control step advantageously comprises computing an input in the form of a deflection input δp of a virtual roll control surface from a current control value pc corresponding to a roll rate p of the aircraft that represents a position of a control column that can be actuated by a pilot of the aircraft, using the following equation:







δ





p

=


F
equi

·

(



K

p
c




p
c


+


K
p


p

+



K
pint

s



(


p
c

-
p

)



)






in which:

    • Fequi is a global filter;
    • s is the Laplace variable;
    • Kp and Kpint are gains; and
    • Kpc is a precontrol term.


Moreover, the gains Kp and Kpint and the precontrol term Kpc are advantageously computed from a set of equations implemented in the generic set of computation modules.


The present invention also concerns an aircraft flight control system intended to control the flight of the aircraft relative to at least one piloting axis.


According to the invention, the system includes:

    • a processing unit comprising a generic set of parameter computation modules, at least some of the computation modules being intended to be used for computation of gains of at least one piloting law relative to at least one given piloting axis of the aircraft, the generic set of computation modules utilizing first values illustrating aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining delay and filter characteristics of a control chain relative to the given piloting axis;
    • at least one data capture unit configured to capture in at least one computation unit associated with a given piloting axis of the aircraft first values illustrating the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining the delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to the piloting axis;
    • at least one data entry link configured to enter at least one current control value into the computation unit during a flight of the aircraft; and
    • the at least one computation unit that is configured to compute the gains of the piloting law utilizing at least a part of the generic set of computation modules, the computation unit being configured to compute inputs intended for at least one actuator of a control surface adapted to control the aircraft relative to the piloting axis in accordance with the current control value of the aircraft using a controlled variable supplied in a raw state, the inputs computed in this way being transmitted to the actuator of the control surface.


In one particular embodiment, the system includes:

    • a computation unit associated with the pitch axis;
    • a computation unit associated with the roll axis; and
    • a computation unit associated with the yaw axis.


The system advantageously further includes:

    • at least one control member that can be actuated configured to generate a control value; and
    • at least one actuator of a control surface configured to actuate the control surface as a function of inputs received.


The present invention further concerns an aircraft, in particular a transport aircraft, that is provided with a system like that specified hereinabove.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The appended figures clearly explain how the invention can be reduced to practice. In these figures, identical references designate similar elements. More specifically:



FIG. 1 is the block diagram of a flight control system and illustrates one embodiment of the invention;



FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrammatic representations of a control chain; and



FIG. 5 shows the steps of a method implemented by a flight control system.





DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The system 1 represented diagrammatically in FIG. 1 to illustrate the invention is an electrical flight control system of an aircraft, in particular a transport aircraft. This flight control system 1 is intended to control (pilot) the aircraft relative to at least one of its three piloting axes:

    • the pitch axis;
    • the yaw axis;
    • the roll axis.


According to the invention, the system 1 includes:

    • a central unit 2 including a processing unit 3 comprising a generic set of parameter computation modules Mi. At least some of the computation modules Mi are intended to be used for computation of gains of at least one piloting law relative to at least one given piloting axis of the aircraft. The generic set of computation modules Mi utilizes first values illustrating aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining delay and filter characteristics of a control chain relative to the given piloting axis;
    • at least one data capture unit 4 (INPUT (keyboard, touch screen, etc.)) connected by way of a link 5 to the central unit 2 and configured to enable an operator, notably a pilot of the aircraft, to capture in at least one computation unit 6, 7, 8 associated with a given piloting axis of the aircraft first values (illustrating the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft) and second values (defining the delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to the piloting axis);
    • at least one data entry link 9 connected to the central unit 2 and configured to enter into the computation unit 6, 7, 8 at least one current control value received from a data generation unit (see below) during a flight of the aircraft; and
    • one or more computation units 6, 7, 8 (COMP1, COMP2, COMP3, respectively, in FIG. 1).


Each computation unit 6, 7, 8 is configured to compute the gains of the associated piloting law utilizing at least a part of the generic set of computation modules Mi.


Moreover, each computation unit 6, 7, 8 is configured to compute inputs intended for at least one actuator of a control surface adapted to control the aircraft relative to the piloting axis in accordance with the current control value of the aircraft, using a controlled variable supplied in a raw state. By raw state is meant the state in which the variable is generated (or measured by an appropriate sensor), i.e., non-filtered and non-delayed.


The system 1 further includes:

    • the data generation unit 10 which includes at least one control member 11, 12 adapted to be actuated manually by a pilot of the aircraft and that is configured to generate a control value representing that action. The data generation unit 10 can include, as the control member, a control column 11 of the usual kind, notably a joystick (STICK), for generating a control value intended for piloting relative to the pitch or roll axis and/or pedals 12 (PED) intended for piloting relative to the yaw axis; and
    • at least one actuator 16, 17, and 18 of a control surface configured to actuate an appropriate control surface as a function of inputs received. The actuators 16, 17, and 18 (ACT1, ACT2 and ACT3, respectively, in FIG. 1) are represented diagrammatically in FIG. 1 in the form of a system 15 connected by a link 14 to the central unit 2 and are associated with the pitch, yaw and roll axes, respectively.


In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 includes simultaneously:

    • the computation unit 6 that is associated with the pitch axis;
    • the computation unit 7 that is associated with the yaw axis; and
    • the computation unit 8 that is associated with the roll axis.


These computation units 6, 7 and 8 can be part of one and the same computation element.


The inputs computed by each of the computation units 6, 7 and 8 are transmitted to one or more actuators of a respective appropriate (real or virtual) control surface via the link 14.


The set of computation modules Mi is termed generic because computation modules Mi of this set can be utilized by each of the three computation units 6, 7 and 8.


Moreover, the system 1 is generic. It is, in fact, suited to any aircraft (see below). The code determined as described above (which is installed in the central unit 2) is directly usable for any aircraft without modification (provided the system architecture of the aircraft allows embedding of this code).


The system 1 therefore applies to piloting relative to the pitch, roll and/or yaw axes of an aircraft that is equipped with control surfaces enabling movement of this aircraft relative to these three axes.


The definition of the various computation elements utilized in the central unit 2 can be explained on the basis of two successive phases, respectively comprising:

    • establishing a particular representation, of optimized complexity, of the (closed loop) control chain; and
    • on the basis of that modelling, defining a piloting law the objectives of which are then explicitly apparent and the equations of which compute the inputs of the law in real time. These equations can then be directly coded in the central unit 2 of the flight control system 1.


To implement these two phases the following aircraft model is utilized.


The aircraft, without considering the flexible modes or the digital control system, can be represented by the usual flight mechanics differential equations for the pitch axis or for the coupled roll and yaw axes.


In the case of the pitch axis, these equations are written:







[




α
.






q
.




]

=



[




p
α



1





m
α




m
q




]

·

[



α




q



]


+


[



0





m

δ





q





]

·

δ
q







where α is the angle of attack, q is the pitch rate and δq is the deflection of the elevator.


The vertical load factor Nz is computed as follows:






Nz
=



V
g



π
180



(

q
-

α
.


)


=



-

V
g




π
180



p
α


α

=


-

V
g




π
180




p
α


s
-

p
α




q







Using the Laplace variable, we obtain:











(


s
2

-


(


p
α

+

m
q


)


s

+


m
q



p
α


-

m
α


)


Nz

=


-

V
g




π
180



p
α



p

δ





q



δ





q





(
i
)







In the case of the roll and yaw axes, these equations are written in the usual way:







[




β
.






r
.






p
.






φ
.




]

=



[





Y
β

V





-
cos






α




sin





α



0





n
β




n
r




n
p



0





l
β




l
r




l
p



0




0



tan





θ



1


0



]



[



β




r




p




φ



]


+


[



0


0





n

δ





l





n

δ





n







l

δ





l





l

δ





n






0


0



]



[




δ





l






δ





n




]







where β is the sideslip angle, r is the yaw rate, p is the roll rate, φ is the roll angle, δl is the deflection of the main roll control surface, δn is the deflection of the main yaw control surface, α is the angle of attack, and θ is the longitudinal pitch angle.


The values of α and θ are considered sufficiently small to simplify the sine, cosine and tangent terms. The model commonly used is then:







[




β
.






r
.






p
.






φ
.




]

=



[





Y
β

V




-
1



0


0





n
β




n
r




n
p



0





l
β




l
r




l
p



0




0


0


1


0



]



[



β




r




p




φ



]


+


[



0


0





n

δ





l





n

δ





n







l

δ





l





l

δ





n






0


0



]



[




δ





l






δ





n




]







If the terms in np, lβ and lr can be ignored, or if a first piloting law enables compensation thereof, the model then becomes:







[




β
.






r
.






p
.






φ
.




]

=



[





Y
β

V




-
1



0


0





n
β




n
r



0


0




0


0



l
p



0




0


0


1


0



]



[



β




r




p




φ



]


+


[



0


0





n

δ





l





n

δ





n







l

δ





l





l

δ





n






0


0



]



[




δ





l






δ





n




]







Adopting the notation:









B
=



[




n

δ





l





n

δ
n







l

δ





l





l

δ





n





]







and




[




δ





l






δ
n




]


=


B

-
1




[




δ





r






δ





p




]







(
ii
)







we obtain:











(


s
2

-


(


n
r

+


Y
β

V


)


s

+

(


n
β

+


n
r




Y
β

V



)


)


β

=

-

δ
r






(
iii
)







and:

(s−lp)p=δp  (iv)


As indicated above, a linearized global control chain is considered, i.e., a system without saturation or parameter thresholds. In mathematical terms this linearized control chain comprises mutually commutative elements. The delays linked to the various steps of this control chain can therefore be grouped into one and the same term.


Consequently, if all the delays and asynchronisms of the control chain are related by an identity function, an equivalent single delay corresponding to the sum of all the delays can be assumed to apply in the final position of the control chain. Likewise, the structural filtering applied to the inputs of the piloting law can in an equivalent manner be placed downstream of the law, on the final inputs.


The usual representation of the control chain is shown in more detail in FIG. 2.


In FIG. 2:

    • C represents the set of sensors;
    • F1 represents a first structural filter;
    • D1 represents a first delay;
    • L represents the piloting law;
    • D2 represents a second delay; and
    • TR represents the transfer function of the actuator.


The control chain can be represented in an equivalent manner, as in FIG. 3, in which DT represents a total delay corresponding to the accumulated delays D1 and D2 of the FIG. 2 control chain.


Moreover, the representation shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by combining the structural filter F1 and the transfer function TR of the actuator as a filter FT illustrating total filtering.


The entire control chain can therefore be considered as a law L applied to non-filtered and non-delayed sensors C the inputs from which pass through a delay unit DT and a single filter FT.


A generalized form of a PID (proportional-integral-derivative) type piloting law is written:






L
=

(



K
uc



u
c


+


K
u


u

+


K
udot



s
·
u


+



K
ui

s



(


u
c

-
u

)



)





where uc is the setpoint of the law (or control value) and u is the controlled variable, considered non-filtered and non-delayed, i.e., in its raw state.


The control chain corresponding to the FIG. 4 representation is then written:










δ
u

=



delay
global



(
s
)


*

Filter


(
s
)




(



K
uc



u
c


+


K
u


u

+


K
udot


su

+



K
ui

s



(


u
c

-
u

)



)






(
v
)







δu is the control surface movement (deflection) generated by this control chain.


The definition of the various computation elements for obtaining the final piloting law can therefore be explained on the basis of two successive phases. The first phase, based on the equation (v) of the control chain, comprises establishing an equivalent representation of that chain and the second phase utilizes that new representation to establish the equations of the piloting law.


Where the first phase is concerned, FILT(s)=delayglobal(s)*Filter(s) is modelled in the form of a single global filter of order N (N≥1) denoted Fequi (s) and enables FILT(s) to be represented with great fidelity in a pass-band corresponding to that of the piloting law.


A preferred formulation enabling the filter and delay characteristics of the control chain to be represented with great fidelity and simplicity is as follows:

Fequi(s)=pade(T,2)*B(s)


where pade(T,2) is a second order Pade filter, with time constant T:







pade


(

T
,
2

)


=





T
2

12



s
2


-


T
2


s

+
1





T
2

12



s
2


+


T
2


s

+
1






and B(s) is a second order Butterworth filter of angular frequency ω0 and and damping ξ:







B


(
s
)


=

1



s
2


ω
0
2


+

2

ξ






s

ω
0



+
1






The pade(T,2) filter is well known to represent mathematically the effect on a control chain of a delay T.


Moreover, with a second order filter, the structure of the filter B(s) enables a good representation of the low-pass characteristic of a filter whilst also representing very well its Q (overvoltage factor).


A fourth order global filter Fequi(s) is therefore chosen (the fourth order corresponding to the sum of the second order of the pade(T,2) filter and the second order of the B(s) filter) to represent faithfully, at the piloting frequencies of the aircraft, the low-pass filter and overvoltage factor characteristics given by B(s) and the chain delay characteristics given by T.


We obtain










δ
u

=






T
2

12



s
2


-


T
2


s

+
1






T
2

12



s
2


+


T
2


s

+
1









1



s
2


ω
0
2


+

2

ξ






s

ω
0



+
1




(



K
uc



u
c


+


K
u


u

+


K
udot


su

+



K
ui

s



(


u
c

-
u

)



)






(
vi
)







Moreover, concerning the aforementioned second phase, if the pitch or yaw axes are considered, the system representing the aircraft is a second order system (equations (i) and (iii)). On the other hand, if the roll axis is considered, the system representing the aircraft is a first order system (equation (iv)), which is a special case of a second order system, the second order coefficient of which is zero.


The second order general differential equation (enabling representation of the aircraft on each of the axes) of a state variable system u is then considered, where the deflection of the control surface is δu:

(K2s2+K1s+K0)u=δu  (vii)


The piloting law is defined by rewriting (vi) with more general notation:










δ
u

=





θ
2



s
2


-


θ
1


s

+

θ
0





θ
2



s
2


+


θ
1


s

+

θ
0





1


as
2

+
bs
+
d




(



K
uc



u
c


+


K
u


u

+


K
udot


su

+



K
ui

s



(


u
c

-
u

)



)






(
viii
)







The differential equation (vii) then becomes:








(



θ
2



s
2


+


θ
1


s

+

θ
0


)



(


as
2

+
bs
+
d

)



(



K
2



s
2


+


K
1


s

+

K
0


)


u

=


(



θ
2



s
2


-


θ
1


s

+

θ
0


)



(



K
uc



u
c


+


K
u


u

+


K
udot


su

+



K
ui

s



(


u
c

-
u

)



)






The piloting law therefore includes:

    • a precontrol gain Kuc applied to the control value uc;
    • a direct feedback on u, denoted Ku;
    • a feedback on the derivative of u, denoted Kudot; and
    • an integral feedback denoted Kui, applied to (uc-u).


The closed loop system is then:

(T7s7+T6s6+T5s5+(T4−θ2Kudot)s4+(T3−θ2Kuθ1Kudot)s3+(T22Kui1Ku−θ0Kudot)s2+(T1−θ1Kui−θ0Ku)s+θ0Kui)u=(θ2s2−θ1s+θ0)(Kucs+Kui)uc  (ix)


the terms of which are computed via a function coefequationBF such that:

[T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012]=coefequationBF(a,b,d,T K0,K1,K2)


By way of illustration, the following equations are considered in this case:







θ
2

=


T
2

12








θ
1

=

T
2








θ
0

=
1.0







T
7

=

a






θ
2



K
2









T
6

=


a






θ
2



K
1


+


(


b






θ
2


+

a






θ
1



)



K
2










T
5

=


a






θ
2



K
0


+


(


b






θ
2


+

a






θ
1



)



K
1


+


(


d






θ
2


+

b






θ
1


+

a






θ
0



)



K
2










T
4

=



(


b






θ
2


+

a






θ
1



)



K
0


+


(


d






θ
2


+

b






θ
1


+

a






θ
0



)



K
1


+


(


d






θ
1


+

b






θ
0



)



K
2










T
3

=



(


d






θ
2


+

b






θ
1


+

a






θ
0



)



K
0


+


(


d






θ
1


+

b






θ
0



)



K
1


+

d






θ
0



K
2










T
2

=



(


d






θ
1


+

b






θ
0



)



K
0


+

d






θ
0



K
1










T
1

=

d






θ
0



K
0






The system described by the equation (ix) has seven poles, which are defined as the roots of the seventh order polynomial corresponding to the left-hand part of the equation (ix).


The PID type law does not have sufficient degrees of freedom to place the seven poles of the system. It enables only three of them to be constrained.


Three poles of the system are therefore placed by the law on the objectives of the law and are therefore the roots of the polynomial:








(


s
2

+

2

ɛ





ω





s

+

ω
2


)



(

s
+

1
τ


)


=



μ
3



s
3


+


μ
2



s
2


+


μ
1


s

+

μ
0






where ω and ξ are the angular frequency and damping objectives of the complex mode, and τ is the time constant objective of the real mode.


In a closed loop the last four poles become values that are not objectives but consequences of the law. These four poles are the roots of a polynomial.


The set of closed loop poles therefore defines the polynomial of the closed loop system:

(x4s4+x3s3+x2s2+x1s+x0)·(μ3s32s21s+μ0u   (x)


The left-hand part of the equation (ix) and the equation (x) can therefore be related via an identity function.


This identity function is performed via a cascade of equations, defined in a function equation_law_input, such that:

[Ku,Kui,Kudot]=equation_law_input(μ013,T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012)


The three unknowns Ku, Kui and Kudot are defined by a system of three equations:

K11Ku+K12Kudot+K13Kui=D11
K21Ku+K22Kudot+K23Kui=D22
K31Ku+K32Kudot+K33Kui=D33


In this system, the determinants are:






D
=



K
11








K
22




K
23






K
32




K
33







-


K
21








K
12




K
13






K
32




K
33







+


K
31








K
12




K
13






K
22




K
23














Rq
=



D
11








K
22




K
23






K
32




K
33







-


D
22








K
12




K
13






K
32




K

33












+


D
33








K
12




K
13






K
22




K
23














Rz
=



K
11








D
22




K
23






D
33




K
33







-


K
21








D
11




K
13






D
33




K
33







+


K
31








D
11




K
13






D
22




K
23














Ri
=



K
11








K
22




D
22






K
32




D
33







-


K
21








K
12




D
11






K
32




D
33







+


K
31








K
12




D
11






K
22




D
22












D is not zero if it is assumed that the system is controllable.


We finally obtain:







K
u

=


R
q

D








K
udot

=


R
z

D








K
ui

=


R
i

D





In these expressions, the following formulas are used:







x
4

=


T
7


μ
3









x
3

=



T
6

-


x
4



μ
2




μ
3









x
2

=



T
5

-

(



x
4



μ
1


+


x
3



μ
2



)



μ
3









C
1

=



T
4

-

(



x
4



μ
0


+


x
3



μ
1


+


x
2



μ
2



)



μ
3









C
2

=



T
3

-


x
3



μ
0


-


x
2



μ
1




μ
3









C
3

=


C
2

-



μ
2



C
1



μ
3










K
11

=


θ
1

+



μ
2



θ
2



μ
3










K
12

=




μ
1



θ
2



μ
3


-

θ
0

-



μ
2



(


θ
1

+



μ
2


μ
3




θ
2



)



μ
3










K
13

=

θ
2








D
11

=



x
2



μ
0


+


μ
1



C
1


+


μ
2



C
3


-

T
2









K
21

=


θ
0

-



μ
1



θ
2



μ
3










K
22

=




μ
1



(


θ
1

+



μ
2



θ
2



μ
3



)


-


μ
0



θ
2




μ
3









K
23

=

θ
1








D
22

=


T
1

-


μ
0



C
1


-


μ
1



C
3










K
31

=



-

μ
0




θ
2



μ
3









K
32

=



μ
0



(


θ
1

+



μ
2



θ
2



μ
3



)



μ
3









K
33

=

-

θ
0









D
33

=


-

μ
0




C
3






This piloting law can then be applied to the pitch, yaw or roll axes of an aircraft, the equation (vii) and the equations (i), (iii) or (iv) being related by an identity function. The control chain (vi) of the aircraft and the equation (viii) are related by an identity function.


In a first application, to control the aircraft relative to its pitch axis, the computation unit 6 (FIG. 1) is configured to compute an input in the form of a deflection input 5q of an elevator of the aircraft on the basis of a current control value Nzc (corresponding to a load factor Nz) that represents the position of the control column 11 that can be pivoted toward the front or toward the rear by the pilot of the aircraft.


The computation unit 6 computes the deflection input δq using the following equation:







δ





q

=


F
equi

·

(



K
D



Nz
c


+


K
Nz


Nz

+


K
q

·
q

+



K
i

s



(


Nz
c

-
Nz

)



)






that is to say:







δ





q

=






T
2

12



s
2


-


T
2


s

+
1





T
2

12



s
2


+


T
2


s

+
1


·

1


as
2

+
bs
+
1


·

(



K
D



Nz
c


+


K
Nz


Nz

+


K
q


q

+



K
i

s



(

Nzc
-
Nz

)



)






This equation is obtained by rewriting the equation (vi) with the names of variables corresponding to the equation (i).


Using the notation:







=


-

V
g




π
180



p
α



m

δ





q




,


K
0

=



m
q



p
α


-

m
α



,


K
1

=

-

(


p
α

+

m
q


)



,


K
2

=
1.0





we obtain:

[T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012]=coefequationBF(a,b,d,T,K0,K1,K2)


The objectives of the law, which can be selected, are:

    • ω the required value of the angular frequency of the attack oscillation;
    • ξ the required value of the damping of the attack oscillation; and
    • τ the required value of the time constant of the real mode linked to the presence of an integrator.


We then write:







μ
3

=
1.0







μ
2

=


2

ζω

+

1
τ









μ
1

=


ω
2

+


2

ζω

τ









μ
0

=


ω
2

τ





We obtain:

[Ku,Kui,Kudot]=equation_law_input(μ0123,T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012)


and







K
Nz

=



K
u

+


p
α



K
udot



A








K
q

=


K
udot


m

δ





q










K
i

=


K
ui

A





The precontrol term KD enables compensation of the real mode:

KD=τKi


Moreover, in a second application, to control the aircraft relative to its yaw axis, the computation unit 7 (FIG. 1) is configured to compute an input in the form of a deflection input δr of a virtual yaw control surface, on the basis of a current control value βc (corresponding to a sideslip angle β of the aircraft), which represents the position of the pedals 12 that can be actuated by the pilot of the aircraft.


The computation unit 7 computes the deflection input δr using the following equation:







δ





r

=


F
equi

·

(



K

β
c




β
c


+


K
β


β

+


K

β





dot




β
.


+



K

β





int


s



(


β
c

-
β

)



)






that is to say:







δ





r

=






T
2

12



s
2


-


T
2


s

+
1





T
2

12



s
2


+


T
2


s

+
1


·

1


as
2

+
bs
+
1


·

(



K

β
c




β
c


+


K
β


β

+


K

β





dot




β
.


+



K

β





int


s



(


β
c

-
β

)



)






This equation is obtained by rewriting the equation (vi) with the names of variables corresponding to the equation (iii).


Using the notation:








K
2

=
1.0

,


K
1

=

-

(



Y
β

V

+

n
r


)



,


K
0

=


n
β

+


n
r




Y
β

V








we obtain:

[T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012]=coefequationBF(a,b,d,T,K0,K1,K2)


The objectives of the law, which can be selected, are:

    • ωβ the required value of the angular frequency of the Dutch roll mode;
    • ξβ the required damping value of the Dutch roll mode;
    • τβint the required value of the time constant of the real mode linked to the presence of an integrator.


We then write:








μ
3

=
1.0

,


μ
2

=


2


ξ
β



ω
β


+

1

τ

β





int





,


μ
1

=


ω
β
2

+


2


ξ
β



ω
β



τ

β





int





,


μ
0

=


ω
β
2


τ

β





int








We obtain:

[Kβ,Kβi,Kβdot]=equation_law_input(μ0123,T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012)


The precontrol term Kβc enables compensation of the real mode:

Kβcβint·Kβint


Moreover, in a third application, to control the aircraft relative to its roll axis, the computation unit 8 (FIG. 1) is configured to compute an input in the form of a deflection input δp of a virtual roll control surface on the basis of a current control value pc (corresponding to a rate of roll p of the aircraft) that represents the position of the control column 11 that can be pivoted toward the right and toward the left by the pilot of the aircraft.


The computation unit 8 computes the deflection input δp using the following equation:







δ





p

=


F
equi

·

(



K

p
c




p
c


+


K
p


p

+



K
pint

s



(


p
c

-
p

)



)






that is to say:







δ





p

=






T
2

12



s
2


-


T
2


s

+
1





T
2

12



s
2


+


T
2


s

+
1


·

1


as
2

+
bs
+
1


·

(



K

p
c




p
c


+


K
p


p

+



K
pint

s



(


p
c

-
p

)



)






This equation is obtained by rewriting the equation (vi) with the names of variables corresponding to the equation (iv).


Using the notation: K2=0.0, K1 =1.0, K0=−lp


we obtain:

[T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7012]=coefequationBF(a,b,d,T,K0,K1,K2)


The objectives of the law, which can be selected, are:

    • Trp the required value of the time constant of the real mode corresponding to the pure roll mode of the aircraft;
    • Tsp the required value of the time constant of the real mode corresponding to the spiral mode of the aircraft.


We then write:








μ
2

=
1.0

,


μ
1

=



T
rp

+

T
sp




T
rp



T
sp




,


μ
0

=

1


T
rp



T
sp








Because the law to be defined is of lower order, instead of the subfunction equation_law_input a slightly different subfunction equation_law_input is defined:

[Ku,Kui]=equation_law_input(μ012,T1,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6012)


Ku and Kui are the solutions of a system of two equations:







K
u

=






D
11



K
22


-


D
22



K
12




det





D








K
ui


=




K
11



D
22


-


K
21



D
11




det





D







The following equations are used for these equations:







x
4

=


T
6


μ
2









x
3

=



T
5

-


x
4



μ
1




μ
2









C
1

=



T
4

-

(



x
4



μ
0


+


x
3



μ
1



)



μ
2









C
2

=



T
3

-


x
3



μ
0




μ
2









C
3

=


C
2

-



μ
1



c
1



μ
2










C
4

=



T
2

-

(



μ
0



c
1


+


μ
1



c
3



)



μ
2









K
11

=


θ
0

-



μ
0



θ
2



μ
2


+



μ
1



(


θ
1

+


μ
1



θ
2



)



μ
2










K
12

=


θ
1

+



μ
1



θ
2



μ
2










D
11

=


T
1

-


μ
0



C
3


-


μ
1



C
4










K
21

=



θ
1

+


μ
1



θ
2




μ
2









K
22

=

-

θ
0









D
22

=


-

μ
0




C
4









det





D

=



K
11



K
22


-


K
12



K
21







We obtain:

Kp=Ku
Kpint=Kui


The precontrol term Kβc enables compensation of the real mode Tsp:

Kpc=Tsp·Kpint


The installation and operation of the flight control system 1 as described above can be effected using a sequence of steps E1 to E3 shown in FIG. 5.


This sequence of steps comprises:

    • an integration step E1 comprising integrating (i.e., coding) the generic set of computation modules Mi in the processing unit 3 of the flight control system 1. This generic set of computation modules Mi has been determined in a previous step E0, notably employing the above two phases;
    • at least one data capture step E2 comprising capturing by means of the data capture unit 4 in at least one of the computation units 6, 7, 8 and preferably in the three computation units 6, 7, 8 first values illustrating the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining the delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to the corresponding piloting axis; and
    • a control (or piloting) step E3 comprising, during a flight of the aircraft, entering into the computation unit or units 6, 7 and 8 the current control value or values generated by means of the data generation unit 10 and computing the inputs for controlling the aircraft relative to the piloting axis or axes concerned by means of the computation unit or units 6, 7 and 8 using this/these current control value or values.


Consequently, the invention comprises coding equations which, utilized in cascade, enable real time computation of the gains of a piloting law embedded in a computer (central unit 2) of an aircraft. The system 1 is applied to piloting relative to the pitch, roll and/or yaw axes of any aircraft provided with control surfaces enabling maneuvering of the aircraft about those axes.


For reducing the invention to practice:

    • the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft being known, the delay characteristics of the control chain being known, and the various filters of the control chain being known (sensor acquisition filters, structural filters, actuator transfer functions), the parameters T, ω0 and ξ and T, ω0 and ξ of the equation (vi) can be assigned values;
    • the objectives of placement of the piloting law are then freely defined; and
    • the solution can then be applied to piloting the aircraft.


While at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms “comprise” or “comprising” do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms “a” or “one” do not exclude a plural number, and the term “or” means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.

Claims
  • 1. A method for controlling the flight of an aircraft with respect to at least one piloting axis of the aircraft, said aircraft being provided with an electrical flight control system, comprising the following steps: integrating into at least one processing unit of the flight control system of the aircraft a generic set of parameter computation modules in an integration step, at least some of said computation modules being intended to be used for computation of gains of at least one piloting law relative to at least one given piloting axis, said generic set of computation modules utilizing first values illustrating aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining delay and filter characteristics of a control chain relative to the given piloting axis;capturing by means of a data capture unit in at least one computation unit associated with the given piloting axis of the aircraft, in at least one data capture step, first values illustrating the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining the delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to said piloting axis, said computation unit being configured to compute the gains of the piloting law utilizing at least a part of said generic set of computation modules, the control chain being linearized so as to make it possible to generate inputs intended for at least one actuator of a control surface adapted to control the aircraft relative to said piloting axis in accordance with at least one current control value of the aircraft by means of a controlled variable supplied in a raw state, the control chain being linearized and verifying the following equation:
  • 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said gains Kuc, Ku, Kudot and Kui are determined from equations present in said generic set of computation modules.
  • 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said generic set of parameter computation modules is utilized by a plurality of control steps to control the flight of the aircraft relative to at least two of the following three piloting axes of the aircraft: the pitch axis;the roll axis; andthe yaw axis.
  • 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control step comprises computing an input in the form of a deflection input δq of an elevator of the aircraft from a current control value Nzc corresponding to a load factor Nz that represents a position of a control column that can be actuated by a pilot of the aircraft using the following equation:
  • 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said gains KNz, Kq and Ki and the precontrol term are computed from the following equations:
  • 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control step comprises computing an input in the form of a deflection input δr of a virtual yaw control surface from a current control value βc corresponding to a sideslip angle β of the aircraft that represents the position of pedals that can be actuated by a pilot of the aircraft, using the following equation:
  • 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said gains Kβ, Kβdot and Kβint and the precontrol term Kβr are computed from equations implemented in said generic set of computation modules.
  • 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control step comprises computing an input in the form of a deflection input δp of a virtual roll control surface from a current control value pc corresponding to a roll rate p of the aircraft that represents a position of a control column that can be actuated by a pilot of the aircraft, using the following equation:
  • 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said gains Kp and Kpint and the precontrol term Kpr are computed from a set of equations implemented in said generic set of computation modules.
  • 10. An aircraft electrical flight control system configured to control the flight of the aircraft relative to at least one piloting axis, said system comprising: a processing unit comprising a generic set of parameter computation modules, at least some of said computation modules being intended to be used for computation of gains of at least one piloting law relative to at least one given piloting axis of the aircraft, said generic set of computation modules utilizing first values illustrating aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining delay and filter characteristics of a control chain relative to the given piloting axis;at least one data capture unit configured to capture in at least one computation unit associated with a given piloting axis of the aircraft first values illustrating the aerodynamic coefficients of the aircraft and second values defining the delay and filter characteristics of the control chain relative to said piloting axis, the control chain being linearized and satisfying the following equation:
  • 11. The system according to claim 10, further comprising: a computation unit associated with the pitch axis;a computation unit associated with the roll axis; anda computation unit associated with the yaw axis.
  • 12. The system according to claim 10, further comprising: at least one control member that can be actuated configured to generate a control value; andat least one actuator of a control surface configured to actuate the control surface as a function of inputs received.
  • 13. An aircraft comprising a flight control system according to claim 10.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
16 59775 Oct 2016 FR national
US Referenced Citations (51)
Number Name Date Kind
3963197 Oberlerchner Jun 1976 A
4454496 Lowe Jun 1984 A
4554545 Lowe Nov 1985 A
4569494 Sakata Feb 1986 A
5112009 Farineau May 1992 A
5415031 Colleu May 1995 A
6164540 Bridgelall Dec 2000 A
6325333 Najmabadi Dec 2001 B1
6510738 Lee Jan 2003 B1
7284984 Zyskowski Oct 2007 B1
8014906 Luo Sep 2011 B2
8380473 Falangas Feb 2013 B2
9260196 Oudin Feb 2016 B2
9440747 Welsh Sep 2016 B1
20030106958 Gold Jun 2003 A1
20030127569 Bacon Jul 2003 A1
20040093130 Osder May 2004 A1
20040267444 Coatantiec Dec 2004 A1
20050173595 Hoh Aug 2005 A1
20050242234 Mahmulyin Nov 2005 A1
20070159392 Vallot Jul 2007 A1
20070222285 Ribbens Sep 2007 A1
20080237392 Piasecki Oct 2008 A1
20080251648 Colomer Oct 2008 A1
20080265104 Fabre-Raimbault Oct 2008 A1
20090043432 Bazile Feb 2009 A1
20090125165 Delannoy May 2009 A1
20090138147 Grinits May 2009 A1
20090287365 Riedinger Nov 2009 A1
20090314900 Puig Dec 2009 A1
20100042271 Holzhausen Feb 2010 A1
20110095136 Schwarze Apr 2011 A1
20110168851 Cherepinsky Jul 2011 A1
20110196514 Cao Aug 2011 A1
20120145834 Morgan Jun 2012 A1
20120209457 Bushnell Aug 2012 A1
20120248260 Krogh Oct 2012 A1
20130274963 Shue Oct 2013 A1
20130335243 Smyth, IV Dec 2013 A1
20130338859 Yamasaki Dec 2013 A1
20140236399 Oudin Aug 2014 A1
20150019050 Oudin Jan 2015 A1
20150021443 Wildschek Jan 2015 A1
20150028162 Wildschek Jan 2015 A1
20160023749 Carton Jan 2016 A1
20160272345 Walter Sep 2016 A1
20160304189 Carton Oct 2016 A1
20160320187 Higuchi Nov 2016 A1
20170008639 Greene Jan 2017 A1
20170323571 Lissajoux Nov 2017 A1
20190004081 Tremblay Jan 2019 A1
Non-Patent Literature Citations (5)
Entry
French Search Report, dated Apr. 26, 2017, priority document.
“Design and Testing of a Flight Control System for Unstable Subscale Aircraft”, Alejandro Sobron Rueda, Jan. 1, 2015.
“La Commande multivariable, application au pilotage d'un avion”, Caroline Berard et al., Nov. 28, 2012.
“Pitch Control of Flight System using Dynamic Inversion and PID Controller”, Jisha Shaji et al., Jul. 7, 2015.
“Automatic Flight Control Summary”, Jan. 20, 2012.
Related Publications (1)
Number Date Country
20180101181 A1 Apr 2018 US