Neural-Network-Based Modeling of Rotorcraft Vibration for Real-Time Applications

Abstract

The overall objective of this ongoing effort is to provide the capability to model and simulate rotorcraft aeromechanics behaviors in real-time. This would be accomplished by the addition of an aeromechanics element to an existing high-fidelity, real-time helicopter flight simulation. As a first step, the peak vertical vibration at the pilot floor location was considered in this neural-network-based study. The flight conditions considered were level flights, rolls, pushovers, pull-ups, autorotations, and landing flares. The NASA/Army UH-60A Airloads Program flight test database was the source of raw data. The present neural network training databases were created in a physically consistent manner. Two modeling approaches, with different physical assumptions, were considered. The first approach involved a "maneuver load factor" that was derived using the roll-angle and the pitch-rate. The second approach involved the three pilot control stick positions. The resulting, trained back-propagation neural networks were small, implying rapid execution. The present neural-network-based approach involving the peak pilot vibration was utilized in a quasi-static manner to simulate an extreme, time-varying pull-up maneuver. For the above pull-up maneuver, the maneuver load factor approach was better for real-time simulation, i.e., produced greater fidelity, as compared to the control stick positions approach. Thus, neural networks show promise for use in high-fidelity, real-time modeling of rotorcraft vibration.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA520301

Entities

People

  • Sesi Kottapalli

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aeronautics
  • Aircrafts
  • Astronautics
  • Control Sticks
  • Flight
  • Flight Simulations
  • Flight Simulators
  • Flight Training
  • Helicopters
  • Level Flight
  • Neural Networks
  • Reliability
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Simulations
  • Simulators
  • Training
  • Vibration

Fields of Study

  • Engineering
  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • AI & ML - Bayesian Inference
  • AI & ML - Neural Networks