Wang, Z., Groß, R. orcid.org/0000-0003-1826-1375 and Zhao, S. (2022) Control of centrally-powered variable pitch propeller quadcopters subject to propeller faults. Aerospace Science and Technology, 120. 107245. ISSN 1270-9638
Abstract
Research into variable pitch propeller (VPP) quadcopters has seen a marked increase in recent years which is due to their enhanced dynamic capabilities compared to conventional fixed pitch propeller quadcopters. Adding actuators to control the pitch angles of the propellers increases the mechanical complexity and hence may increase the risk of faults. In this paper, the flight control of a centrally-powered VPP quadcopter in the presence of a propeller fault is studied. This problem has not been studied in the literature. In this paper firstly the balance trajectory is analysed. The uncontrollable mode is identified next. Finally, a linear controller is proposed. It is shown that the yaw angle and angular velocity become uncontrollable in the presence of a VPP fault, yet the quadcopter can still accurately track a desired trajectory. It is also discovered that the quadcopter exhibits different and favourable behaviour, such as slow self-spinning speed. The relationship under certain parameter conditions is analysed and the parameter conditions that lead to zero self-spinning are identified. Our analysis could contribute to the development of high-performance quadcopters that are both agile and robust with respect to faults. Simulation results are presented to verify the theoretical findings.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in JOURNAL. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Variable pitch propeller quadcopter; Flight control; Fault control |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 30 Mar 2022 07:07 |
Last Modified: | 29 Nov 2022 01:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.ast.2021.107245 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:185243 |