Dynamics of Circularly Towed Aerial Cable Systems, Part 2: Transitional Flight and Deployment Control

Dynamics and control of cable-drogue system in aerial recovery of Micro Air Vehicles based on Gauss's Principle

“…Reference [2] uses the differential flatness property to design a path planning algorithm for the towplane with the objective of minimizing the orbit radius of the drogue. In more recent work, [3] and [4] give a detailed description of the dynamics of circularly towed drogues and design strategies for moving from one orbit configuration to another. The objective in [3] and [4] is precision pickup and delivery of payloads on the ground by a fixed-wing aircraft.…”

Optimal Trajectory Generation Using Model Predictive Control for Aerially Towed Cable Systems

“…The transition between straight-and-level flight and orbital flight (and vice versa) needs special attention for a towed cable system because the cable may become slack when the mothership turns and may experience large and sudden forces that may break the cable [15]. To prevent the tension forces exerted on the cable from exceeding the loading limit, an optimal trajectory of the mothership is needed to keep the tension forces within their limits during the transition.…”

“…In subsequent decades, the study of towed cable systems focused on the analysis of equilibrium and stability of the system, and on dynamic modeling approaches for the cable when the motion of the towing point is a straight line or circular orbit [10][11][12][13]. In the recent years, Williams et al [14][15][16][17] have made major contributions to the study of towed body systems. Williams and Trivailo [14,15] give a detailed description of the dynamics of circularly towed drogues and design strategies for moving from one orbit configuration to another.…”

“…In the recent years, Williams et al [14][15][16][17] have made major contributions to the study of towed body systems. Williams and Trivailo [14,15] give a detailed description of the dynamics of circularly towed drogues and design strategies for moving from one orbit configuration to another. Williams and Ockels [16] employ this approach to the problem of lifting payloads using multiple fixed-wing aircraft.…”

“…Williams et al [15] used simulated annealing to solve the optimal control problem in scheduling the orbit radius of the towing vehicle while the system transitions from a straight flight into an orbit. Williams et al [32] used optimal control in determining the motion of the towing plane, as well as the cable deployment rate so that the towed body passed through a set of desired waypoints.…”