SimModHeli, a helicopter dynamic simulation model specially suited for the design, test, and evaluation of flight control systems for model-scale helicopters is introduced. SimModHeli is implemented in the MATLAB Simulink environment, using C MEX-file S-functions for enhanced performance, and is freely available for download on the Internet. SimModHeli is based on first-principles modeling of the dynamics and aerodynamics of rotary-wing aircraft and is specially tailored for model-scale helicopters. The structure of the helicopter dynamic model is described and the contributions of the different vehicle components to the global model are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the mathematical modeling of the main rotor and Bell-Hiller stabilizing bar. The fully parameterizable simulation model arising from the modeling effort is presented and some SimModHeli control-oriented features are described. An LQ (Linear Quadratic) state feedback controller is synthesized to stabilize the vehicle in hover. The linear state feedback controller was required to meet the following design specifications: (1) zero steady state error, (2) the control loop bandwidth for all actuators should not exceed 30 rad/s to ensure that the main and tail rotor command servos are not driven beyond their normal actuation bandwidth. The hover controller was obtained by resorting to the solution of the standard continuous time LQ regulator problem, where the state and control weighting matrices, were selected as to achieve a reasonable tracking performance for the channels in e without violating the actuator bandwidth requirements. Simulation results obtained with SimModHeli and the hover control system are presented and discussed. Future work will focus on adjusting and validating SimModHeli so that it can be used to exploit the particular dynamic characteristics of model-scale helicopter in its whole flight envelope. Extra effort will be placed on studying, developing, and testing advanced control strategies to achieve good performance characteristics in highly demanding maneuvers.


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    Title :

    SimModHeli: A dynamic simulator for model-scale helicopters


    Additional title:

    SimModHeli: ein dynamischer Simulator für Hubschrauber im Modellmaßstab


    Contributors:
    Cunha, R. (author) / Silvestre, C. (author)


    Publication date :

    2003


    Size :

    6 Seiten, 10 Bilder, 11 Quellen


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Storage medium


    Language :

    English