LPV control of two dimensional wing flutter

Abstract

We utilize a standard linear model for the control of a thin airfoil in subsonic flow. The airfoil is modeled by a 2D section with three degrees of freedom: plunge, pitch angle and flap angle. This is a 6D linear system with states: plunge, pitch angle, flap angle and their rates. The system has three inputs: the lift and moment generated by the air flowing over the wing and the torque applied at the flap hinge. This torque consists of two parts: the torque generated by the air flow and the external torque that can be applied by a motor. The goal is to use feedback to stabilize the airfoil at or above its flutter speed. We consider several standard control strategies. The simplest is to assume that all states are measurable and to design a stabilizing state feedback using the linear quadratic regulator theory. A more realistic approach is to assume that only some or all of the six physical states are measurable and to use dynamic state feedback based on the linear quadratic Gaussian approach.