Decentralized Control of Ailerons for Gust Load Alleviation

ifasd2024 Tracking Number 109

This paper describes the design of a so-called decentralized gust load alleviation system for an aircraft with high aspect ratio wings. The system uses control loops at each individual aileron actuator that aim to reduce local structural dynamics at each respective point of installation in the wing structure. To this end, each actuator is equipped with a remote electronic unit that incorporates an inertial measurement unit and a processing unit that allows for implementation of a fast, local control loop that combines control surface positioning with local structural damping. At an aircraft level, this renders a decentralized control structure. Although the number of design degrees of freedom is lower than for a centralized system, over-all system complexity is considerably reduced. The presented design shows that remarkable improvement of structural damping and reduction of wing root bending moments can be achieved.