Flight Control Design for a Validated XV-15 Tilt Rotor Model: H ∞ vs Linear Parameter Varying

Abstract

This manuscript develops full envelope flight control systems for a validated tilt rotor vehicle by using 2 different methods: ${\mathcal{H}_\infty }$ and Linear Parameter Varying. The former one leads to a single controller operating at a wide range of flight conditions, while the latter one results in a gain-scheduled controller, whose dynamics is varying and parameter dependent. Simulation results on the trimmed vehicle model show that both methods perform very well. Moreover, the comparison of the 2 strategies are carried out at several test points, illustrating pros and cons for each method.