Linear parameter-varying control of a large blended wing body flexible aircraft

In this paper a linear parameter-varying (LPV) controller design approach is applied to the longitudinal dynamics of a large blended wing body aircraft. The method is based on parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions utilizing the information given by bounds for the maximum parameter rate of variation. The entire parameter space is approximated by a set of linearized models in trimmed operating points which leads to a finite-dimensional convex optimization problem. Typical design goals for flexible aircraft control such as handling qualities, loads and vibration reduction were considered with the Mach number as scheduling parameter. The obtained LPV controller is extensively tested, and the obtained results demonstrate the high potential of the methodology for flexible aircraft control.