Modelling and controller design of a novel ducted fan unmanned aircraft

In this study, a novel ducted fan unmanned aircraft exhibiting great trafficability is proposed. The unconventional layout causes complex dynamical characteristics and imposes great challenge to controller design. First, a nonlinear mechanism model of the innovative unmanned aircraft is built. On this basis, a two-layer controller is proposed, combining the advantages of both robust control and predictive control. The robust static output feedback method is used for inner loop with an extra preposed structure, and the model predictive control method is employed for outer loop. According to the simulation and flight experiment results, the feasibility of this innovative aircraft layout is demonstrated, and the designed controller exhibits high performance in both reference tracking and disturbance restraint. As suggested from the comparison experiments with the Proportion-Integration-Differentiation controller, the proposed controller exhibits better performance, capable of improving response time and enhancing the stability of the system by nearly 40%.