Commande variant dans le temps pour le contrôle d'attitude de satellites

Cette thèse porte sur la commande variant dans le temps avec comme fil directeur l application au contrôle d attitude de satellites. Nous avons étudié trois types de commande: une commande à commutation, une commande LPV et une commande adaptative directe. Pour cette dernière nous avons proposé des résultats théoriques nouveaux portant sur la structuration du gain et de l adaptation. Les résultats ont été validés en simulation et sont testés à bord d un satellite. En partant de la loi à commutation actuellement utilisée sur les satellites Myriade, une première partie de nos travaux est dédiée à la commande LPV. Notre approche, basée sur la spécification des objectifs de commande à travers un modèle de référence LPV, permet d'obtenir de nouveaux algorithmes exprimés dans ce formalisme. Testées en simulation, ces lois de commande répondent à la problématique de notre application. Toutefois, le choix du modèle de référence LPV s'avère délicat. Cette difficulté a été levée en utilisant la commande adaptative. Dans cette approche, les spécifications sur le comportement temps-variant sont traduites par des contraintes au niveau des lois d'adaptation des gains de commande. Nous introduisons ainsi une nouvelle méthode de synthèse de lois adaptatives structurées. Les preuves de stabilité établies s'appuient sur des outils de la théorie de Lyapunov. Les résultats obtenus sur un simulateur complet montrent l'intérêt de tels algorithmes adaptatifs. Ils permettent en particulier de modifier la dynamique du satellite selon les capacités disponibles des actionneurs. Sur la base de ces résultats, une campagne d essai en vol sur le satellite PICARD est actuellement en cours.This manuscript considers time varying control, with a strong emphasis on a satellite attitude control application. Three types of control structures have been studied: a switch-based approach, LPV control and direct adaptive control. In this last field we have introduced new theoretical results which allow structuring the gain and the adaptation law. The results have been validated in simulation and are currently tested on board a satellite. Starting from the switch-based control law currently implemented on the Myriade satellites, a first part of our work isdedicated to LPV control. Based on the specification of the control objectives by using of an LPV reference model, our approach allows obtaining new control algorithms expressed within this framework. The simulations carried out with theLPV algorithms obtained by using this method show that they meet the needs of our application. Nonetheless, the choice of a reference model proves to be difficult. This obstacle has been surpassed by using direct adaptive control. In this approach, specifications regarding the timevarying behaviour are added through constraints on the laws defining the control gains adaptation. We thus introduce anew synthesis method, based on which structured adaptive control laws are obtained. Stability proofs are established based on tools of the Lyapunov theory.The results obtained on a complete simulator show the interest of using such adaptive algorithms, which allow in particular to modify the satellite dynamics depending on the available capacity of the actuators. Based on these positive results, a fight-test campaign on the PICARD satellite is underway.TOULOUSE-ISAE (315552318) / SudocSudocFranceF

An open benchmark for distributed formation flight control of Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The capability of autonomous formation flight has the potential to significantly enhance the utility and efficiency of small low-cost Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Formations of small, inexpensive fixed-wing UAS allow for the sharing of remote sensing functionality, mission-level redundancy and range enhancements due to aerodynamic interactions widely exploited by migratory birds. This article presents a benchmark problem for scalable distributed flight control of formations of UAS with only local relative state information, one of the open problems in this field as of today. The benchmark is openly available and comprises a nonlinear six degrees of freedom dynamics model of an electric glider UAS. In this article we furthermore introduce a nominal guidance frame that does not require state information of other UAS and point out a fundamental issue related to wake vortex tracking during formation maneuvers. A set of LQ baseline controllers that are part of the benchmark is presented along with simulation results

Du pilotage d'une famille de drones à celui d'un drone hybride via la commande adaptative

Les micro-drones sont des aéronefs sans pilotes de dimensions inférieures à un mètre et de poids inférieur à deux kilogrammes. Ils se distinguent des aéronefs classiques pour plusieurs raisons : un cycle de développement plus court, un coût plus faible, leur facilité d'opération et des configurations de véhicules spécifiques. L'ensemble de ces points attendent une réponse spécifique dans le développement des lois de commandes. Cette thèse s'y intéresse à travers deux problématiques : la commande d'une famille de drones quadrirotors et celle d'un drone hybride. Une famille de drones représente un même concept de véhicule décliné en plusieurs tailles dont on peut faire varier la charge utile ou son emplacement. Les lois de commandes doivent assurer un même niveau de performances malgré ses modifications. Un drone hybride se caractérise par sa capacité à réaliser du vol stationnaire et du vol d'avancement. Ces deux modes de vol ont chacun une dynamique de vol spécifique à laquelle les lois de commandes doivent s'adapter. Cette thèse présente la modélisation de quadrirotors et d'un drone hybride puis détaille une approche de commande adaptative indirecte qui répond aux problèmes introduits. La commande adaptative permet de garantir à l'aide d'un correcteur unique les performances de commande pour de multiples systèmes. Les méthodes d'estimation de paramètres et de synthèse linéaire à paramètres variants du schéma de commande sont décrites, puis, finalement, des résultats d'essais en vol montrent l'apport et les limites de cette approche.Micro Air Vehicle are pilotless aircrafts with dimensions not exceeding one meter and a maximum weight of two kilograms. They are different from classical aircrafts for multiple reasons: a shorter development cycle, a cheaper development, their ease of operation and specific vehicle configurations. All these points expect a specific answer in the development of the control laws of the vehicles. This thesis considers this topic through two particular issues: the control of a family of quadrotors and the control of hybrid micro air vehicle. A family of quadrotor represents a single concept of vehicle but with various sizes, payloads and payload configurations. Control laws must guarantee the same level of performance despite all these modifications. A hybrid micro air vehicle is able to both hover like a helicopter and fly forward like a plane. These two flight modes have specific flight dynamics that the control laws must adapt to. This thesis first presents a model of quadrotors and hybrid micro air vehicle and then details an indirect adaptive control method to tackle both issues. Adaptive control should guarantee performance of multiple controlled systems with a single controller. The parameter estimation and linear parameter varying synthesis method of the adaptive control scheme are described and finally flight test results show the contributions and limits of the approach.TOULOUSE-ISAE (315552318) / SudocSudocFranceF

A generalized framework for robust nonlinear compensation (application to an atmospheric reentry control problem)

Ce travail de thèse est consacré à l'extension de l'Inversion Dynamique non-linéaire (NDI-Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion) pour un ensemble plus grand de systèmes non-linéaires, tout en garantissant des conditions de stabilité suffisantes. La NDI a été étudiée dans le cas de diverses applications, y compris en aéronautique et en aérospatiale. Elle permet de calculer des lois de contrôle capables de linéariser et de découpler un modèle non-linéaire à tout point de fonctionnement de son enveloppe d'état. Cependant cette méthode est intrinsèquement non-robuste aux erreurs de modélisation et aux saturations en entrée. En outre, dans un contexte non-linéaire, l'obtention d'une garantie quantifiable du domaine de stabilité atteint reste à l'heure actuelle complexe. Contrairement aux approches classiques de la NDI, notre méthodologie peut être considérée comme un cadre de compensation non-linéaire généralisé qui permet d'intégrer les incertitudes et les saturations en entrée dans le processus de conception. En utilisant des stratégies de contrôle antiwindup, la loi de pilotage peut être calculée grâce à un simple processus en deux phases. Dans ce cadre de travail généralisé des transformations linéaires fractionnaires (LFT - Linear Fractional Transformations) de la boucle fermée non-linéaire peuvent être facilement déduites pour l'analyse de la stabilité robuste en utilisant des outils standards pour de systèmes linéaires. La méthode proposée est testée pour le pilotage d'un véhicule de rentrée atmosphérique de type aile delta lors de ses phases hypersonique, transsonique et subsonique. Pour cette thèse, un simulateur du vol incluant divers facteurs externes ainsi que des erreurs de modélisation a été développé dans Simulink.This thesis work is devoted to extending Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (NDI) for a large scale of nonlinear systems while guaranteeing sufficient stability conditions. NDI has been studied in a wide range of applications, including aeronautics and aerospace. It allows to compute nonlinear control laws able to decouple and linearize a model at any operating point of its state envelope. However, this method is inherently non-robust to modelling errors and input saturations. Moreover, obtaining a quantifiable guarantee of the attained stability domain in a nonlinear control context is not a very straightforward task. Unlike standard NDI approaches, our methodology can be viewed as a generalized nonlinear compensation framework which allows to incorporate uncertainties and input saturations in the design process. Paralleling anti-windup strategies, the controller can be computed through a single multichannel optimization problem or through a simple two-step process. Within this framework, linear fractional transformations of the nonlinear closed-loop can be easily derived for robust stability analysis using standard tools for linear systems. The proposed method is tested for the flight control of a delta wing type reentry vehicle at hypersonic, transonic and subsonic phases of the atmospheric reentry. For this thesis work, a Flight Mechanics simulator including diverse external factors and modelling errors was developed in Simulink.TOULOUSE-ISAE (315552318) / SudocSudocFranceF

Propellant Sloshing Torque H ∞ -based Observer Design for Enhanced Attitude Control

International audienceIn this paper a control-oriented LPV model of the sloshing torque arising during attitude maneuvers, supported by Computational Fluid Dynamics results, is presented and used for attitude control design. The proposed strategy essentially relies on the design of a robust LPV-based disturbance torque observer with the help of the structured multi-model H ∞ synthesis framework. The estimated torque is then used to improve a satisfying attitude controller initially designed without sloshing. The stability of the parameter-varying closed-loop system is finally proved with parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions

Using A Quadrotor As Wind Sensor: Time-Varying Parameter Estimation Algorithms

International audienceThe objective of this paper is to develop an algorithm for the estimation of time-varying wind parameters by taking into account a detailed quadrotor model. The design objectives include the time convergence optimization, robustness to measurement noises, and a guaranteed convergence of the estimates to the true values under mild applicability conditions. It is supposed that the estimation algorithm can use IMU (accelerometers, gyroscopes) sensors augmented with an earth reference tracking system and rotor rotational velocity sensors. To this end, three time-varying parameter estimation algorithms are introduced, compared and finally merged to estimate the varying wind velocity in on-board quadrotor systems. Final numerical experiments , using a nonlinear quadrotor simulator, are used to validate the proposed approaches

Robust control of rotation-floating space robots with flexible appendages for on-orbit servicing

On-orbit operations are facing a growing need for autonomous robotic systems to achieve risky and repetitive tasks. Debris removal, on-orbit servicing and in-space deployment/assembly are examples of applications considering the use of robot manipulators. The presence of large and light appendages in future spacecrafts, such as solar arrays, antennas and sun shields yields to flexible disturbances inside the structure making the control of the manipulator challenging. This paper addresses design and contro

Control of rotation-floating space robots with flexible appendages for on-orbit servicing

On-orbit operations are facing a growing need for autonomous robotic systems. Debris removal, on-orbit servicing and in-space deployment/assembly are examples of applications considering the use of robot manipulators. This paper addresses design and control problems related to autonomous space manipulator systems when using kinetic moment exchange devices in presence of flexible appendages. The paper introduces a method to develop a common control of the spacecraft base and manipulator. An extended stat

Wind rejection via quasi-continuous sliding mode technique to control safely a mini drone

International audienceThe objective of this paper is to show how to build a nonlinear robust control law, which ensures trajectory tracking for a drone quadrotor under unpredictable wind perturbations. The first step is to find the aerodynamic forces and moments using a combination of momentum and blade element theory. Then the model is rewritten in state-space form, where the control inputs are selected to be proportional to the squares of rotor angular velocities. The other terms dependent linearly on rotors and wind velocities are considered as disturbances. Such a decomposition of thrust and selection of disturbances are almost exact in the hover flight. In literature, fixed bounds are often assumed on each component of the disturbance input vector, but for synthesis of the proposed control law, the big issue is that the disturbance depends on wind signals, the control itself, and state of the system. Chattering effects and their reduction are analysed and investigated in the last part of the paper by introducing rotors dynamics in control design. High order sliding mode control is applied and the recent tool of quasi-continuous sliding mode control is analyzed. Results of numeric experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controls

Wind estimation algorithm for quadrotors using detailed aerodynamic coefficients

International audienceIn the context of safe control of quadrotors, wind velocity estimation and compensation have a key-role. For this reason, assuming the lack of airspeed sensors and considering sensors noise, in this paper three time-varying parameter estimation algorithms are introduced, studied and merged to estimate the varying wind velocity, using only on-board quadrotor sensors and an inertial tracking position system (e.g. Optitrack camera, GPS). To this end, a detailed quadrotor flight dynamics model is presented using identified aerodynamic coefficients and wind velocity components along the three axes. Then, a decomposition of dynamical equations is performed in known and unknown terms to be estimated. Thanks to this decomposition, the estimation algorithms are built and finally tested and validated in numerical experiments, against the introduced sensors' noise