Integration of Flight Control and Flow Control

Past research work has shown the great potentials of active flow control by using collectively interacting synthetic jet arrays, where the actuation signals to the jet actuators were generated by open-loop strategies. In this proposal, Intelligent Automation, Inc. (IAI) and its subcontractor, Prof. Amitay of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, propose a novel approach to integrated flight control and flow control to improve the aerodynamic performance of air vehicles. The proposed approach consists of two main components. First, the degree of flow separation is controlled by using synthetic jet arrays operating at high frequencies, resulting in the formation of a quasi-steady closed recirculating flow region. Additionally, synthetic jet actuators have some unique properties including zero-mass-flux, low power consumption, and compact structure well suited for MEMS applications, etc. Second, a neural network based nonlinear adaptive control method (NAC) is designed to regulate the actuation signals to jet actuators to track a reference trajectory of the desired degree of flow reattachment. A major advantage of the proposed adaptive control scheme is its minimal dependence on an accurate model of the complicated system dynamics. In addition, a pseudo-control hedging method is used to overcome neural network adaptation difficulties due to various actuation anomalies.