Precise Control And Simulation Of Receiver In Autonomous Aerial Refueling

In modern military activities, aircrafts’ range, take-off weight and strategic deployment are seriously restricted because of the limitation of fuel volume. Aerial refueling technique can extend aircrafts’ flight range, payload and endurance, which can solve the above problems effectively. The paper is carrying out deep research in precise control of the receiver aircraft during tracking and docking procedures in the autonomous aerial refueling.First of all, the receiver aircraft six degrees of freedom model, refueling drogue model and atmospheric turbulence model are established. The docking process is divided into three stages according to the features of aerial refueling docking section and tracking instructions of receiver aircraft during every phase are given along with indicators judging docking between receiver aircraft and refueling drogue is successful or not.Secondly, based on the LQR optimal control method, the receiver aircraft tracking and docking control system is designed. In order to make the receiver aircraft track and dock the refueling drogue stably and smoothly, according to the relative position between receiver aircraft and refueling drogue which is measured by relative navigation system, the accurate docking between receiver aircraft and refueling drogue is realized using the designed the guidance and control law based on the LQR optimal control method.Thirdly, based on the dynamic inversion control method and robust control method, the receiver aircraft tracking and docking control system is designed, and the guidance and control law is designed using the dynamic inversion control method. Considering the inversion error from the inner loop dynamic inversion controller calculation caused by external interference, the robustness of the controller is improved by compensating the inversion error using H￥loop shaping control method. By such the external environment disturbance is suppressed, and the accuracy of docking between the receiver aircraft and refueling drogue is ensured.Finally, a flight tracking and docking control simulation structure of the receiver aircraft in autonomous aerial refueling is established in MATLAB numerical simulation environment. The designed tracking and docking controller of the receiver aircraft are simulated separately and compared with each other under the both conditions of atmospheric turbulence is existed or not. The accuracy, stability and robustness of the system are analyzed in order to determine the docking between the receiver aircraft and refueling drogue is successful or not. The simulation results indicate that the accurate tacking and docking maneuver between the receiver aircraft and refueling drogue can be realized by the designed tracking and docking controllers under the disturbances of atmospheric turbulence.