Reconfiguration of Unmanned Aircraft Control System

Reliability of unmanned aircraft is a decisive factor for conducting air tasks in controlled airspace. One of the means used to improve unmanned aircraft reliability is reconfiguration of the control system, which will allow to maintain control over the aircraft despite occurring failures. The control system is reconfigured by using operational control surfaces, to compensate for failure consequences and to control the damaged aircraft. Development of effective reconfiguration algorithms involves utilization of a non-linear model of unmanned aircraft dynamics, in which deflection of each control surface can be controlled independently.

The paper presents a method for an unmanned aircraft control system reconfiguration utilizing a linear and nonlinear model of aerodynamic loads due to control. It presents reconfiguration algorithms, which differ with used models and with optimization criteria for deflections of failure-free control surfaces. Additionally it presents results of a benchmark of the developed algorithms, for various types of control system failures and control input.