Preview LPV and µ Controller Design and Wind Tunnel Validation for Gust load Alleviation of Flexible Wings

Abstract

This research presents synthesis, simulation and wind tunnel testing of a preview controlsystem for Gust Load Alleviation (GLA) at various dynamic pressures via H∞-based Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) and µ-synthesis methods. The dynamic pressure variation is treated as the modeling uncertainty so that the system gain can be bounded by computing µ. The tests were conducted using a low cost semi-wing/tail aeroservoelastic model, MARGEI(Modular Aeroelastic Research and Gust Experiment–I) and a gust generation system in the University of Washington’s 3ft by 3ft wind tunnel. Frequency domain behavior and margins are analyzed, and the time domain responses are compared between simulation and experiment. The correlation between multi-loop margins, wing-root strain, µ value, dynamic pressure, and preview length are discussed. The simulation results showed good multiloop margins and significant reductions in peak wing root strain.