Model reference adaptive switching control of a linearized hypersonic flight vehicle model with actuator saturation

Abstract In order to address the control of an air-breathing hypersonic flight vehicle (AHFV) with actuator saturation, a model reference adaptive switching control (MRASC) approach is proposed. The design of the MRASC system is centred around a linearized longitudinal-motion flexible model at a Mach 8, altitude of 10 000 ft, and dynamic pressure of 1017 lb/ft2 flight condition. A switched reference system (SRS) is established to describe the desired dynamics of the AHFV with/without actuator saturation, and correspondingly, a switched adaptive controller (SAC) is constructed utilizing the hyperstability method. By switching between the subsystems of the SRS and the corresponding subcontrollers of the SAC, the MRASC system achieves the desired performance and is globally asymptotically stable under limited disturbances, provided that a simple linear-matrix-inequality-based sufficient condition holds. Although it is too early to say that the proposed scheme gives desired anti-saturation performance with respect to large disturbances, within a large flight envelope, there are still some advantages that will improve performance.