High Specific Power Aircraft Turn Maneuvers: Tradeoff of Time-to-Turn versus Change in Specific Energy
Abstract
This thesis deals with the tradeoff between time-to-turn and the change in specific energy during a turn of 180 deg, for an aircraft of high specific power. This type of aircraft possesses the capability to sustain flight at the corner velocity where both maximum lift coefficient and maximum load factor occur simultaneously. However, the classical necessary conditions breakdown on this corner velocity arc and an additional constraint must be defined to determine the optimal control histories. The report first defines the necessary conditions for a generic optimal control formulation and then applies the formulation to this high specific power aircraft problem. The result is a three-point boundary value problem with a discontinuous interior corner condition at the beginning of the sustained corner velocity arc. All state and costate derivative and end conditions are presented with numerical methods for determining both minimum time and maximum energy gradient solutions. Anticipated results are provided for the formulations beginning at initial conditions both above and below the corner velocity. Results are presented for the minimum time solution only. Recommendations for further work in this same area are also provided. Originator supplied keywords include: Optimization techniques, Minimum time turns, Optimal controls, and Singular controls.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA151701
Entities
People
- S. B. Dron
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology