Dynamic Analysis of a Twin Rotor MIMO System and Control Design

Abstract

A control oriented analysis of a Twin Rotor MIMO System (TRMS) based on a high fidelity, non-linear model, recently developed, is proposed. Explicit formulae for the system states equilibria and for the descriptor matrices of the corresponding linear systems are provided. A modal analysis is presented which gives insights into the dynamics behaviour of the system across its operating envelope. Thanks to this analysis and to the analytical formulae developed, a simple, robust, LQR state-feedback controller is designed. Good tracking responses both in simulation and on the real, physical TRMS system are achieved. The responses predicted in simulation are almost identical to those observed on the real, physical system and these compare very favourably with the results of the literature.