Nonlinear adaptive velocity controller design for an air-breathing supersonic engine

This paper presents an approach on the design of a nonlinear controller to track a reference velocity for an air-breathing supersonic vehicle. The nonlinear control scheme involves an adaptation of propulsive and aerodynamic characteristics in the equations of motion. In this paper, the coefficients of given thrust and drag functions are estimated and they are used to approximate the equations of motion under varying flight conditions. The form of the function of propulsive thrust is extracted from a thrust database which is given by preliminary engine input/output performance analysis. The aerodynamic drag is approximated as a function of angle of attack and fin deflection. The nonlinear controller, designed by using the approximated nonlinear control model equations, provides engine fuel supply command to follow the desired velocity varying with time. On the other hand, the stabilization of altitude, separated from the velocity control scheme, is done by a classical altitude hold autopilot design. Finally, several simulations are performed in order to demonstrate the relevance of the controller design regarding the vehicle.