Three-axes predictive control of autopilot for missile

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the autopilot design for the missile under various disturbances.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, model predictive control (MPC) method has been used for autopilot design for each axis. The aim of autopilot is that to keep the roll angle value around the zero degree and to track pitch/yaw acceleration commands. This three-axes control methodology also takes into consideration the interaction between pitch, yaw and roll motions.

Findings

The purpose of using MPC method for three-axes of the autopilot is to decrease the control effort and to make the close-loop system insensitive against modeling uncertainties and stochastic effects.

Originality/value

This study shows that the missile is able to reach to the desired target with good robustness, low control effort and little miss-distance under disturbances such as aerodynamic uncertainties, thrust misalignment and gust affect by using this alternative control method.

Citation

Ada, C. and Kural, A. (2017), "Three-axes predictive control of autopilot for missile", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 89 No. 1, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-06-2014-0090