State-space model identification and feedback control of unsteady aerodynamic forces

Abstract Unsteady aerodynamic models are necessary to accurately simulate forces and develop feedback controllers for wings in agile motion; however, these models are often high dimensional or incompatible with modern control techniques. Recently, reduced-order unsteady aerodynamic models have been developed for a pitching and plunging airfoil by linearizing the discretized Navier–Stokes equation with lift-force output. In this work, we extend these reduced-order models to include multiple inputs (pitch, plunge, and surge) and explicit parameterization by the pitch-axis location, inspired by Theodorsen׳s model. Next, we investigate the naive application of system identification techniques to input–output data and the resulting pitfalls, such as unstable or inaccurate models. Finally, robust feedback controllers are constructed based on these low-dimensional state-space models for simulations of a rigid flat plate at Reynolds number 100. Various controllers are implemented for models linearized at base angles of attack α 0 = 0 ° , α 0 = 10 ° , and α 0 = 20 ° . The resulting control laws are able to track an aggressive reference lift trajectory while attenuating sensor noise and compensating for strong nonlinearities.