Flight Dynamics of a Micro Air Vehicle with Aeroservoelastic Interactions across a Range of Wing Stiffness

Abstract

Preliminary flight control design typically assumes that the aircraft is a rigid body; however, the aeroservoelastic effects of wing flexibility can have a large impact on flight dynamics and controller performance. The more flexible the aircraft becomes, the worse the closed loop performance can become. The actual point in which the flexibility causes the original control design to be unacceptable is typically not available to control designers early in the design process. In this paper, a parametric study is conducted that looks at several flight dynamics and control metrics pertinent to aircraft design and are studied for various flexibility configurations. These metrics are then parameterized by wing stiffness. The point at which control performance becomes unacceptable is also explored.