Damage Adaptation Using Integrated Structural, Propulsion, and Aerodynamic Control

The proposed SBIR Phase I plan of research seeks to develop and demonstrate an integrated architecture designed to compensate for combined propulsion, airframe, effector, and structural damage caused by catastrophic system failure or an intentionally hostile act. Whereas prior damage-adaptive control work focused on reconfiguring from unforeseen aerodynamic changes (e.g., effector or airframe damage), the proposed damage-adaptive control approach also accounts for the current health of the propulsion systems and key structural elements. The integrated controller merges available system identification and diagnostic information to compute a new "safe" operating envelope for the vehicle that accounts for identified changes in structural integrity/dynamics. Once this envelope is computed, the controller then proceeds to compute (1) an achievable flight path for landing the aircraft, and (2) a set of inceptor (or effector) and propulsion commands that will track the computed achievable reference trajectory in a decoupled way – all the while assuring that, if physically possible, the aircraft will not excite dangerous structural modes or create structural loads that would risk further damage. The research will also investigate advisory and retrofit implementations of the proposed approach that will enable early V&V and implementation.