TILTROTOR UAV DESIGN: Modelling Stability Analsysis and Control System Design

Aerial vehicles have proved their usefulness in military (combat, deployment of units, patrolling, surveillance, reconnaissance, etc.) and civil areas (transport, search and rescue, fire-fighting, etc.) of applications over a hundred years. Tiltrotor UAVs provide a unique platform that fulfills the needs for ever-changing mission requirements by combining the desired features; hovering like a helicopter and reaching high forward speeds like an airplane. In this book, the conceptual design and aerodynamical model of a realizable small-sized Tiltrotor UAV is constructed, the linearized state-space models are obtained around the trim points for airplane, helicopter and conversion modes, controllers are designed using Linear Quadratic Regulator methods and gain-scheduling is employed to obtain a simulation for the whole flight envelope. Eventually, the ideas for making a real flying model are established according to simulation results. The analysis should help to both theorists and practitioners who are eager to explore the features of the new aircraft types.