Inverse simulation as a tool for flight dynamics research—Principles and applications

Thomson, Douglas; Bradley, R. S.

doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2006.07.002

Cited by 70 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…One method of assessing the helicopter's ability to perform maneuvers is inverse simulation. Inverse simulation reverses the conventional simulation approach by calculating the control activity required to force a vehicle along a particular trajectory [2]. The first inverse simulation algorithm, known as the differentiation method, was developed by Thomson and Bradley [3] to assess the agility of a helicopter using a six degree of freedom (DOF) rotorcraft model.…”

Section: F Propmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Maneuverability Assessment of a Compound Helicopter Configuration

Ferguson¹,

Thomson²

2016

J Am Helicopter Soc

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The compound helicopter design could potentially satisfy the new emerging requirements placed on the next generation of rotorcraft. The main benefit of the compound helicopter is its ability to reach speeds that significantly surpass the conventional helicopter. However, it is possible that the compound helicopter design can provide additional benefits in terms of maneuverability. The paper features a conventional helicopter and a compound helicopter. The conventional helicopter features a standard helicopter design with a main rotor providing the propulsive and lifting forces whereas a tail rotor, mounted at the rear of the aircraft, provides the yaw control. The compound helicopter configuration features both lift and thrust compounding. The wing offloads the main rotor at high speeds whereas two propellers provide additional axial thrust as well as yaw control. This study Presented at the 40th European Rotorcraft Forum, Southampton, U.K., September 2-5th, 2014. investigates the maneuverability of these two helicopter configurations using inverse simulation. The results predict that a compound helicopter configuration is capable of attaining greater load factors than its conventional counterpart, when flying a Pullup-Pushover maneuver. In terms of the AccelDecel maneuver, the compound helicopter configuration is able of completing the maneuver in a shorter time than the conventional helicopter, but at the expense of greater installed engine power.The addition of thrust compounding to the compound helicopter design reduces the pitch attitude required throughout the acceleration stage of the maneuver. Nomenclature

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Section: F Propmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However with this form of output vector the calculated control activity contained high frequency oscillations [2]. By modifying the output vector to the following:…”

Section: Ads-33 Pullup-pushover Maneuvermentioning

confidence: 99%

Maneuverability Assessment of a Compound Helicopter Configuration

Ferguson¹,

Thomson²

2016

J Am Helicopter Soc

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“…HGS is a non-linear, seven degree of freedom, generic mathematical model, and was developed to be suitable for use in an inverse simulation. Inverse simulation investigations typically involve assessment of a helicopters capability to perform aggressive manoeuvres [21,22], making HGS ideal for the current investigation. Multi-blade representations of the main and tail rotor were used, each blade being assumed rigid and to have constant chord and profile.…”

Section: A Nonlinear Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of HGS, inverse simulation has been used whereby trajectory data from manoeuvres flown by real helicopters is used to drive the inverse simulation. The states and controls computed by HGS (in its inverse formulation) are compared with those recorded in the flight tests to establish the validity of the simulation, and results have demonstrated acceptable correlation for a range of manoeuvres [21,24]. The HGS model is generic in structure, representing single main and tail rotor helicopters by a series of basic configuration parameters.…”

Section: A Nonlinear Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing Helicopter Evasive Maneuver Effectiveness Against Rocket-Propelled Grenades

Anderson

Thomson

2014

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics

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It has long been acknowledged that military helicopters are vulnerable to groundlaunched threats, in particular the RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade. Current helicopter threat mitigation strategies rely on a combination of operational tactics and selectivelyplaced armour plating which offer little protection. However in recent years a number of active protection systems (APS) designed to protect land-based vehicles from rocket and missile fire have been developed. These systems all use a sensor suite to detect, track and predict the threat trajectory, which is then employed in the computation of a defensive kill mechanism intercept trajectory. In this paper it is proposed that although a complete APS in its current form is unsuitable for helicopters, the APS track and threat trajectory prediction sub-system could be used in the computation of an optimal evasive manoeuvre. It is further proposed that this manoeuvre can be found by solving a specific pursuit-evasion differential game. To evaluate the game, nonlinear dynamic and spatial models for a helicopter, RPG-7 round and gunner & evasion strategies were developed and integrated into a bespoke simulation engine. Analysis of the results from representative vignettes demonstrates that the simulation yields the value of the engagement pursuit-evasion game. It is also shown that in the majority of cases survivability can be significantly improved by performing an appropriate evasive manoeuvre. Consequently this simulation may be used as an important tool for designing and evaluating evasive tactics and manoeuvres leading to improved rotorcraft survivability.

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“…Helicopter inverse simulation [1] has been an active topic of research since its first development over two decades ago, with the works of Thomson and Bradley [2] and Hess and…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Model Predictive Control Architecture for Rotorcraft Inverse Simulation

Avanzini

Thomson

Torasso

2013

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics

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A novel inverse simulation scheme is proposed for applications to rotorcraft dynamic models. The algorithm adopts an architecture which closely resembles that of a model predictive control scheme, where the controlled plant is represented by a high-order helicopter model. A fast solution of the inverse simulation step is obtained on the basis of a lower-order, simplified model. The resulting control action is then propagated forward in time using the more complex one. The algorithm compensates for discrepancies between the models by updating initial conditions for the inverse simulation step and introducing a simple guidance scheme in the definition of the tracked output variables.The proposed approach allows for the assessment of handling quality potential on the basis of the most sophisticated model while keeping model complexity to a minimum for the computationally more demanding inverse simulation algorithm. The reported results, for an articulated blade, single main rotor helicopter model, demonstrate the validity of the approach.

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Inverse simulation as a tool for flight dynamics research—Principles and applications

Cited by 70 publications

References 28 publications

Maneuverability Assessment of a Compound Helicopter Configuration

Maneuverability Assessment of a Compound Helicopter Configuration

Analyzing Helicopter Evasive Maneuver Effectiveness Against Rocket-Propelled Grenades

Model Predictive Control Architecture for Rotorcraft Inverse Simulation

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