Dynamics and control for an in-plane

morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify the dynamic principle of internal structure of a complex morphing wing and control the wing to
change congurations rapidly and smoothly. It includes modeling the dynamics of the morphing wing and designing a rational morphing control system.
Design/methodology/approach The dynamic model of the morphing wing is developed based on Lagrange method of analytical mechanics. The
generalized forces are obtained by virtual work principle. Since the morphing wing is a strongly coupled, over-actuated and nonlinear system with multi-
input and multi-output, the control system design includes a control allocator, a dynamic inversion controller and two PID controllers. The control
allocator is designed based on pseudo inverse method; the dynamic inversion controller is applied to make the original system decoupled into two
independent linear systems by proper nonlinear feedback transformation; two classical PID controllers are adopted for the linearlized systems.
Findings The validity of the dynamic model and the controller is veried according to the simulation results using ADAMS and Matlab. It suggests
that integrating Lagrange equation, pseudo inverse allocation, dynamic inversion control and classical PID method, is an effective way to solve
problems of dynamic modeling and control for morphing wings.
Research limitations/implications The exibility of the structure, the changes of the aerodynamic load, the mass and the dynamic performances of
actuators are not taken into account. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to develop a more realistic morphing wing model.
Practical implications The paper includes implications for the development of a dynamic model of a complex morphing wing and a rational
morphing control system.
Originality/value The paper fulls a complete process from multi-rigid-body dynamic modeling to control system design for an over-actuated
nonlinear complex morphing wing, which could be a foundation of further researches on morphing wing dynamics and control.
Keywords Aircraft, Modelling, Dynamics, Control systems, Morphing wing, Multi-rigid-body dynamics, Lagrange equation, Control allocation,
Dynamic inversion
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Future aircraft are required to accomplish various ight
missions (such as climb, dash, loitering and high speed
maneuvers) while maintaining optimal aerodynamic
performance throughout the ight. Obviously, conguration
xedaircraft are unable to meet suchneeds, therefore morphing
aircraft characterized by morphing as required are proposed.
According to the morphing scale, various morphing structures
can be classied into three types, which can be found in
Rodriguez (2007): large-scale changes involve wing area, span
and sweep; medium-scale changes involve chord, camber,
thickness, twist, and airfoil shape; small-scale shape changes
affect the local airow.
In 2003 the Morphing Aircraft Structure program was
initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency
(DARPA), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Three large-scale morphing structures including folding wing,
sliding skin wing and stretching wing were put forward.
NextGen Aeronautics Inc. conducted research on the second
type, as showninFlanagan1et al. (2007), whichwas a typical in-
plane morphing wing with mechanized four-bar linkages and
motion imparted by linear actuators. The external exible skin
accommodatedthe motionwhile transmitting air pressure loads
to the wings mechanical substructure. The morphing structure
utilized two degrees of freedom, the sweepback angle and the
internal angle of the four-bar linkage assembly, toaccommodate
wing geometry changes so that optimal aerodynamic
performance could be achieved and maintained under various
ight missions, and it can be found in Joo and Sanders (2009).
Research on the morphing wing structure was mainly focused
on the optimization of the actuator location in the structure
units using different optimization algorithms and objective
functions. Sequential quadratic programming (SQP) was used
to solve the optimization problemin Westfall et al. (2007), and a
two-stage optimization process based on genetic algorithm
(GA) and gradient-based optimization was developed in
Johnson et al. (2009) for maximum energy efciency.
NASTRAN and SQP methods were used to optimize the
actuator locationwiththe exibility of the bars being considered
in Westfall et al. (2007) and OGrady (2010). In the above
literatures, static analysis models based on Virtual Work
Principle were developed and used. Furthermore, some
research was also focused on the overall morphing aircraft.
The ight control and its relation with shape control are
discussedinSeigler et al. (2007). The transitionstability of ight
during which the aircraft changes shape is also analyzed in
Seigler and Neal (2009).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1748-8842.htm
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
85/1 (2013) 2431
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1748-8842]
[DOI 10.1108/00022661311294094]
24
However, our work is mainly focused on the dynamic
modeling and morphing control system design of the
morphing wing. The structure of the morphing wing is a
complicated multi-rigid-body system, and its dynamics are
sophisticatedly nonlinear, strongly coupled and over-actuated,
so a mathematical model of the multi-rigid-body dynamics
should be built, and a control system should be designed
rationally to keep the morphing process smooth and fast;
otherwise the aircraft will lose stability. In this paper, the
multi-rigid-body dynamic model of the morphing wing is
developed; the control system is designed based on pseudo
inverse allocation, dynamic inversion control and classical
PID method; the correctness of the dynamic model and the
effectiveness of the controller are veried according to
ADAMS and Matlab simulations, respectively.
Multi-rigid-body dynamic modeling
The sweepback angle and the wing area of the morphing wing
can be changed independently and simultaneously. As shown
in Figure 1, the internal morphing structure consists of three
parts, and every parallelogram is diamond. The rst part is
used for changing the sweepback angle, which consists of a
leading edge, a large revolute joint at the root and a triangle
mechanism at the back of the wing with an actuator inside.
The triangle mechanism can slide on the adjacent bar. The
second part is used for changing the wing area and located
between the triangle mechanism and the leading edge. It
consists of several diamonds arranged in two rows with an
actuator in each diamond. The last part is the motion
following part, which coordinates with the changes of the
other two parts, with one actuator inside. It is located inside
the aircraft body and connected with the triangle mechanism
by three sliders.
Due to the large number of bars, joints and actuators in the
mechanical structure, modeling based on vector mechanics
will involve quite complicated and unnecessary constraint
forces, and the modeling process will be quite tiring.
Therefore, the dynamic model of the morphing wing is
developed based on lagrange method of analytical mechanics
from the viewpoint of energy.
Lagrange equation
In analytical mechanics, Lagrange equation takes the
following form:
d
dt
E
k
_ q
i
_ _
2
E
k
q
i

E
p
q
i
F
i
; i 1; 2; :::; n; 1
where E
k
is the kinetic energy of the system; E
p
is the potential
energy of the system; q
i
are the generalized coordinates, a
group of independent parameters used to dene the motion
completely; F
i
are the generalized forces; n is the number of
the generalized coordinates. The dynamic model of the
morphing wing can be obtained by selecting appropriate
generalized coordinates and deriving the kinetic energy, the
potential energy and the generalized forces of the system.
Figure 2 is drawn for dynamic modeling of the two-DOF
morphing wing. The whole structure consists of 16 bars,
which are A
1
A
6
, B
1
B
5
, C
1
C
4
, D
2
E
2
, A
2
B
1
, A
3
C
1
, A
4
C
2
, A
5
C
3
,
A
6
C
4
, D
1
D
2
, E
1
E
3
, H
1
H
4
, H
1
G
1
, H
2
G
2
, H
3
G
3
and H
4
G
4
.
Nine linear actuators are used, which provide the force
vectors F
a
for changing the sweepback q
1
, F
bk
k 1; 2; . . . ; 7
for changing the area determined by q
2
2 q
1
, and F
c
for
coordinating with the changes of the other two parts. F
a
acts
on bars D
2
D
1
and D
1
E
1
in diamond D
1
D
2
E
2
E
1
, F
b1
on bars
B
1
B
2
and B
2
A
3
in diamond B
1
B
2
A
3
A
2
, F
b2
on bars C
1
B
2
and
B
2
A
3
in diamond C
1
B
2
B
3
C
2
, F
b3
on bars B
2
B
3
and B
3
A
4
in diamond B
2
B
3
A
4
A
3
, F
b4
on bars C
2
B
3
and B
3
B
4
in diamond C
2
B
3
B
4
C
3
, F
b5
on bars B
3
B
4
and B
4
A
5
in
diamond B
3
B
4
A
5
A
4
, F
b6
on bars C
3
B
4
and B
4
B
5
in diamond
C
3
B
4
B
5
C
4
, F
b7
on bars B
4
B
5
and B
5
A
6
in
diamond B
4
B
5
A
6
A
5
, and F
c
on bars G
1
F
1
and F
1
F
2
in
diamond G
1
F
1
F
2
G
2
. Point O is dened as the origin of the
rectangular coordinate. The positive direction of X-axis is
along the direction of the wingspan. Springs are installed
along the diagonals of the diamonds to imitate the elastic
forces of the external skin. Generalized coordinate q
1
is the
angle between the positive direction of X-axis and A
1
A
2
;
generalized coordinate q
2
is the angle between the positive
direction of X-axis and A
2
B
1
. F
1
and F
2
are the generalized
forces corresponding to q
1
and q
2
.
Figure 1 Internal structure schematic of the morphing wing
Figure 2 In-plane structure of the morphing wing
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
25
The equivalent moments of inertia, J
11
, J
12
and J
22
, are:
J
11

16
j1
m
j
x
Sj
q
1
_ _
2

y
Sj
q
1
_ _
2
_ _
J
j
w
j
q
1
_ _
2
_ _
J
22

16
j1
m
j
x
Sj
q
2
_ _
2

y
Sj
q
2
_ _
2
_ _
J
j
w
j
q
2
_ _
2
_ _
J
12

16
j1
m
j
x
Sj
q
1
x
Sj
q
2

y
Sj
q
1
y
Sj
q
2
_ _
J
j
w
j
q
1
w
j
q
2
_ _ _ _
;
_

_
2
where m
j
, x
Sj
, y
Sj
, J
j
and w
j
are, respectively, the mass, two
coordinates of the mass center, the moment of inertia about
the mass center and the angular displacement of the jth bar.
The kinetic energy of the system can be expressed as:
E
k

1
2
J
11
_ q
2
1
J
12
_ q
1
_ q
2

1
2
J
22
_ q
2
2
: 3
Substituting the partial derivatives to q
1
and q
2
and the
derivatives to time of E
k
into equation (1), the dynamic
equation of the morphing wing structure is obtained:
J
11
q
1
J
12
q
2

1
2
J
11
q
1
_ q
2
1

J
11
q
2
_ q
1
_ q
2

J
12
q
2
2
1
2
J
22
q
1
_ _
_ q
2
2

E
p
q
1
F
1
J
22
q
2
J
12
q
1

J
12
q
1
2
1
2
J
11
q
2
_ _
_ q
2
1

J
22
q
1
_ q
1
_ q
2

1
2
J
2
q
2
_ q
2
2

E
p
q
2
F
2
_

_
:
4
Equivalent moments of inertia
Take the second bar B
1
B
5
j 2 with point B
3
as the centre
of mass as an example. The coordinates of the center of mass
and the angular displacement can be deduced as:
x
S2
a 3l
1
cos q
1
l
1
cos q
2
; 5
y
S2
3l
1
sinq
1
l
1
sinq
2
; 6
w
2
q
1
; 7
The other 15 bars can be analyzed similarly. By substituting
all the results into equation (2), the equivalent moments of
inertia can be obtained as:
J
11

911
3
m
1
l
2
1
16m
2
l
2
1

10
3
m
2
l
2
2
12m
2
l
1
l
2
_ _
28l
1
l
2
24l
2
2
_ _
m
2
cos
2
q
1

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3
sin
2
q
1
l
2
3
2 a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

2
;
8
J
22
27m
1
l
2
1
16m
2
l
2
1
_ _

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3
sin
2
q
2
l
2
3
2 a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

2
;
9
J
12

123
2
m
1
l
2
1
16m
2
l
2
1
6m
2
l
1
l
2
_ _
cos q
1
2 q
2

14m
2
l
1
l
2
cos q
1
cos q
2

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3
sin q
1
sinq
2
l
2
3
2 a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

2
;
10
where the lengths and the mass of B
1
B
2
, D
1
D
2
and G
1
G
2
are
l
1
; m
1
; l
2
; m
2
; l
3
; m
3
, respectively, and OA
1
a. The partial
derivatives of J
11
, J
12
and J
22
to q
1
and q
2
can be obtained
according to equations (8)-(10) as follows:
J
11
q
1
22 28l
1
l
2
24l
2
2
_ _
m
2
cosq
1
sinq
1

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3

2cosq
1
sinq
1
l
2
3
2a2l
1
cosq
1
2l
1
cosq
2

2
_
24l
1
sin
3
q
1
a2l
1
cosq
1
2l
1
cosq
2

l
2
3
2a2l
1
cosq
1
2l
1
cosq
2

2
_ 2
;
11
J
11
q
2

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3
sin
2
q
1
24l
1
sinq
2
a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

l
2
3
2 a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

2
_ _
2
;
12
J
22
q
1

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3
sin
2
q
2
24l
1
sinq
1
a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

l
2
3
2 a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2

2
_ _
2
;
13
J22
q2

52
3
m3l
2
1
l
2
3

2cos q2 sinq2 l
2
3
2 a 2l1 cos q1 2l1 cos q2
2
_
2 4l1sin
3
q2a 2l1 cos q1 2l1 cos q2
l
2
3
2 a 2l1 cos q1 2l1 cos q2
2
_ 2
;
14
J12
q1
2
123
2
m
1
l
2
1
16m
2
l
2
1
6m
2
l
1
l
2
_ _
sinq
1
2q
2
214m
2
l
1
l
2
sinq
1
cosq
2

52
3
m
3
l
2
1
l
2
3

cosq1sinq2 l
2
3
2a2l1 cosq1 2l1 cosq2
2
_
24l1sin
2
q1sinq2a2l1 cosq1 2l1cosq2
l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_ 2
;
15
J12
q2

123
2
m1l
2
1
16m2l
2
1
6m2l1l2
_ _
sinq1 2q2214m2l1l2cosq1sinq2
52
3
m3l
2
1
l
2
3

cosq2sinq1 l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_
24l1sin
2
q2sinq1a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_ 2
:
16
Potential energy
The impact of the gravitational potential energy on the
morphing wing structure is ignored here. Assume that the
stiffness coefcient of each spring is k, and the original lengths
are l
01
and l
02
. The elastic potential energy of the spring D
2
E
1
is:
E
p1

k
2
l
D2E1
2 l
02

k
2
2l
2
cos q
1
2 l
02

2
; 17
where l
D2E1
2l
2
cos q
1
. The elastic potential energy of the
spring D
1
E
2
is:
E
p2

k
2
l
D1E2
2 l
02

k
2
2l
2
sinq
1
2 l
02

2
; 18
where l
D1E2
2l
2
sin q
1
. The elastic potential energy of the
spring A
3
B
1
is:
E
p3

k
2
l
A3B1
2 l
01

k
2

2l
2
1
2 2l
2
1
cosq
2
2 q
1

_
2 l
01
_ _
2
;
19
where l
A3B1

2l
2
1
2 2l
2
1
cosq
2
2 q
1

_
. The elastic potential
energy of the spring A
2
B
2
is:
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
26
E
p4

k
2
l
A2B2
2 l
01

k
2

2l
2
1
2l
2
1
cosq
2
2 q
1

_
2 l
01
_ _
2
;
20
where l
A2B2

2l
2
1
2l
2
1
cosq
2
2 q
1

_
. The elastic potential
energy of the systemand its partial derivatives to q
1
and q
2
are as
follows:
E
p
E
p1
E
p2
7E
p3
7E
p4
14kl
2
1
7kl
2
01
kl
2
02
2kl
2
2
2 14kl
01
l
1
sin
q
2
2 q
1
2
cos
q
2
2 q
1
2
_ _
2 2kl
02
l
2
cos q
1
sinq
1
;
21
E
p
q
1
7kl
01
l
1
cos
q
2
2 q
1
2
2 sin
q
2
2 q
1
2
_ _
2 2kl
02
l
2
cos q
1
2 sin q
1
;
22
E
p
q
2
7kl
01
l
1
sin
q
2
2 q
1
2
2 cos
q
2
2 q
1
2
_ _
: 23
Generalized forces
The virtual work of the generalized forces can be expressed as:
dW
1
F
1
dq
1
F
2
dq
2
; 24
where dq
1
and dq
2
are the virtual displacements corresponding
to q
1
and q
2
. The virtual work of the actuator forces can be
expressed as:
dW
2
F
a
ds
a
F
b
ds
b
F
c
ds
c
F
a
s
a
q
1
dq
1

s
a
q
2
dq
2
_ _
F
b
s
b
q
1
dq
1

s
b
q
2
dq
2
_ _
F
c
s
c
q
1
dq
1

s
c
q
2
dq
2
_ _
;
25
where F
b


7
k1
F
bk
; s
a
, s
b
and s
c
are the lengths of the
actuator bars in the three parts, respectively.
The evenly distributed aerodynamic load acting on the
leading edge in the wing plane, q, can be regarded as a force
F
0
with a magnitude 7ql
1
and an action point A. The virtual
work of F
0
can be expressed as:
dW
3
F
0
dy
A
F
0
y
A
q
1
dq
1

y
A
q
2
dq
2
_ _
; 26
where y
A
is the vertical coordinate of point A:
y
A

7
2
l
1
sin q
1
: 27
Since dW
1
dW
2
dW
3
, the generalized forces can be
obtained as:
F
1
F
a
s
a
q
1
F
b
s
b
q
1
F
c
s
c
q
1
F
0
y
A
q
1
F
2
F
a
s
a
q
2
F
b
s
b
q
2
F
c
s
c
q
2
F
0
y
A
q
2
_

_
28
The lengths s
a
, s
b
and s
c
can be obtained by Law of Cosines:
s
a

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
2
2 2k
1
k
2
l
2
2
cosp 2 2q
1

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
2
2k
1
k
2
l
2
2
cos2q
1

_
;
29
s
b

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
1
22k
1
k
2
l
2
1
cosq
2
2 q
1

_
; 30
s
c

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
3
2 2k
1
k
2
l
2
3
cos
p
2
u
_ _
_

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
3
2k
1
k
2
l
2
3
sin u
_
;
31
where k
1
and k
2
are the length coefcients which determine the
locations of the actuator endpoints, as shown in Figure 2. The
location coefcients of each actuator are assumed the same. For
example, k
1
H
1
M=H
1
G
1
; k
2
H
1
N=H
1
H
2
. u is the
angle between the positive direction of X-axis and G
1
H
1
. It
can be calculated according to the coordinate relation
x
H1
x
C1
, which is, l
3
cos u a 2l
1
cos q
1
2l
1
cos q
2
. Thus,
the partial derivatives of s
a
, s
b
and s
c
to q
1
and q
2
can be obtained
according to equations (29)-(31) as follows:
s
a
q
1
2
2k
1
k
2
l
2
sin2q
1

k
2
1
k
2
2
2k
1
k
2
cos2q
1

_ ; 32
s
a
q
2
0; 33
s
b
q
1
2
k
1
k
2
l
1
sinq
2
2 q
1

k
2
1
k
2
2
2 2k
1
k
2
cosq
2
2 q
1

_ ; 34
s
b
q
2

k
1
k
2
l
1
sinq
2
2 q
1

k
2
1
k
2
2
2 2k
1
k
2
cosq
2
2 q
1

_ ; 35
sc
q1

2
2k1k2l1l3sinq1a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
3
22k1k2l3

l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_
_

l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_
;
36
sc
q2

2
2k1k2l1l3sinq2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2

k
2
1
k
2
2
_ _
l
2
3
22k1k2l3

l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_
_

l
2
3
2a2l1cosq1 2l1cosq2
2
_
:
37
Control system design
Since the morphing wing is a typical over-actuated system
with nine actuators and two DOFs, the control allocation
algorithm is required to assign actuator forces. Furthermore,
the morphing wing is a strongly coupled nonlinear system
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
27
with multi-input and multi-output, so linearizing and
decoupling method should be adopted. In order to make
the morphing process stable, smooth and fast, the control
system is designed as three subsystems, a control allocator,
a dynamic inversion controller and two PID controllers.
The diagram of the control system is shown in Figure 3,
where r is the tracking command. The main advantage of the
controller structure is that the adjustment of any subsystem is
independent, which is convenient for the further design of the
fault reconstruction control.
State space expression
According to equation (4), the state space expression of the
morphing wing system can be presented as:
_ x f x B
u
u
y Cx
_
; 38
where the state vector is
x
x
1
x
2
x
3
x
4
_ _
T

q
1
_ q
1
q
2
_ q
2
_ _
T
; the output
vector is y
y
1
y
2
_ _
T

q
1
q
2
_ _
T
; the control input
vector is u
u
1
u
2
u
3
u
4
u
5
u
6
u
7
u
8
u
9
_ _
T

F
a
F
b1
F
b2
F
b3
F
b4
F
b5
F
b6
F
b7
F
c
_ _
T
:
f x
f
1
x
f
2
x
f
3
x
f
4
x
_

_
_

x
2
A
0
x A
11
xx
2
2
A
12
xx
2
x
4
A
22
xx
2
4
x
4
B
0
x B
11
xx
2
2
B
12
xx
2
x
4
B
22
xx
2
4
_

_
_

_
;
39
B
u

1
J
11
J
22
2J
2
12

0 0 ::: 0 0
s
a
q
1
J
22
s
b
q
1
J
12
J
22
:::
s
b
q
1
J
12
J
22

s
c
q
1
J
22
2
s
c
q
2
J
12
0 0 ::: 0 0
2
s
a
q
1
J
12
s
b
q
2
J
12
J
11
:::
s
b
q
2
J
12
J
11

s
c
q
2
J
11
2
s
c
q
1
J
12
_

_
_

_
49
;
40
C
1 0 0 0
0 0 1 0
_ _
; 41
A
0

F
0
y
A
q
1
2
E
p
q
1
_ _
J
22

E
p
q
2
J
12
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 42
B
0

2
E
p
q
2
J
11
F
0
y
A
q
1
2
E
p
q
1
_ _
J
12
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 43
A
11

J
12
J
12
q
1
2
1
2
J
12
J
11
q
2
2
1
2
J
22
J
11
q
1
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 44
B
11

2J
11
J
12
q
1

1
2
J
12
J
11
q
1

1
2
J
11
J
11
q
2
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 45
A
12

J
12
J
22
q
1
2 J
22
J
11
q
2
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 46
B
12

J
12
J
11
q
2
2 J
11
J
22
q
1
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 47
A
22

1
2
J
12
J
22
q
2
2 J
22
J
12
q
2

1
2
J
22
J
22
q
1
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
; 48
B
22

2
1
2
J
12
J
22
q
1
J
12
J
12
q
2
2
1
2
J
11
J
22
q
2
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
: 49
Control allocator
The control allocator calculates the input of the dynamics
system u from the output of the dynamic inversion controller
v. Their relation can be linearized as Bu v, where B is
dened as the control efciency matrix.
The control allocator is design based on pseudo inverse
method, a basic optimization algorithm for control allocation
with the advantages of easy realization and quick operation,
which ignores the position and velocity saturation of
actuators. Pseudo inverse algorithm is a two-norm solution
to the control allocation problem, which can be formulated
as:
u
min u k k
2
subject to Bu v: 50
Figure 3 Control system structure of the morphing wing
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
28
The optimal solution can be obtained by Lagrange multiplier
method as:
u B
T
BB
T

21
v B

v; 51
where B

is the pseudo inverse of matrix B. Dene vector v

as:
v
v
1
v
2
_ _

F
a
s
a
q
1
F
b
s
b
q
1
F
c
s
c
q
1
F
a
s
a
q
2
F
b
s
b
q
2
F
c
s
c
q
2
_

_
_

_
; 52
then equation (38) can be rewritten as:
_ x f x B
v
x v
v Bu
y Cx
_

_
; 53
where:
B
v

0 0
J
22
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
2J
12
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
0 0
2J
12
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
J
11
J
11
J
22
2 J
2
12
_

_
_

_
; 54
B
u
B
v
B: 55
So the control efciency matrix B is obtained:
B
s
a
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
b
q
1
s
c
q
1
s
a
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
b
q
2
s
c
q
2
_

_
_

_
:
56
Dynamic inversion controller
Dynamic inversion control method is developed based on
differential geometry theory. The basic idea is to achieve the
exact linearization of the nonlinear system and the decoupling
between inputs and outputs by proper nonlinear feedback
transformation.
According to equation (53), the derivative of the output to
time is:
_ y C_ x Cf x B
v
v Cf x CB
v
v: 57
Since CB
v
0, the second order derivative is deduced as:
y C x
_ x
2
_ x
4
_
_
_
_

f
2
x
f
4
x
_
_
_
_

J
22
J
11
J
22
2J
2
12
2J
12
J
11
J
22
2J
2
12
2J
12
J
11
J
22
2J
2
12
J
11
J
11
J
22
2J
2
12
_

_
_

_
v:
58
Dene a new control input vector w
w
1
w
2
_ _
. The dynamic
inversion control law is:
v
J22
J11J222J
2
12
2J12
J11J222J
2
12
2J12
J11J222J
2
12
J11
J11J222J
2
12
_

_
_

_
21
w2
f
2
x
f
4
x
_ _ _ _
: 59
Then according to equation (58), the linear input-output map
can be obtained:
y
1
w
1
y
2
w
2
_
: 60
Dene new state vectors j
j
1
j
2
_ _
T

q
1
_ q
1
_ _
T
; and
h
h
1
h
2
_ _
T

q
2
_ q
2
_ _
T
. The original system can be
decoupled into two independent linear systems:
_
j
1
_
j
2
_ _

0 1
0 0
_ _
j
1
j
2
_ _

0
1
_ _
w
1
y
1
j
1
;
_

_
61
_ h
1
_ h
2
_ _

0 1
0 0
_ _
h
1
h
2
_ _

0
1
_ _
w
2
y
2
j
2
_

_
62
PID controllers
The two independent subsystems are controlled by two PID
controllers, respectively, based on classical PID method. The
stability and the rapidity of the morphing process can be
achieved by adjusting the parameters of PID controllers based
on trial method or pole assignment method.
The block diagram of the whole control system is shown in
Figure 4.
Simulation results
In order to verify the correctness of the model, ADAMS
dynamical simulations are performed. The simulation results
are compared with the numerical solutions of the
mathematical model calculated by Runge-Kutta method
under different structure parameters and different control
forces. Comparison results show that the dynamic model of
the morphing wing is correct. For example, Figures 5 and 6
are results of the angular velocity, where a 0.37 m,
k 80 N/m, l
1
l
3
0.4 m, l
2
0.3 m, q 5 N/m,
k
1
k
2
0.5, F
a
400N, F
b
490N, F
c
2100N, and
the bars made of aluminum are 0.03m wide and 0.02m thick.
The control system simulation is performed using Matlab.
Figures 7 and 8 show the step responses when q
1
goes from
Figure 4 Block diagram of the control system of the morphing wing
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
29
378 to 468, and q
2
from 1498 to 1798. It can be seen that q
1
and
q
2
both arrive at the nal values at about 1.5 s and there is no
overshoot or steady-state error. Figures 9 and 10 show the
inputs and outputs of the control allocator, that is, v, F
a
, F
bk
and F
c
. These results show that the control system of the
morphing wing is rational and effective.
Conclusion
Lagrange equation, pseudo inverse control allocation,
dynamic inversion control and classical PID method are
integrated together to solve the problem of modeling and
control for a morphing wing. The dynamic model of the
Figure 5 _ q
1
vs time
5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
time (s)
q
.
1

(

/
s
)
Mathematical Model
ADAMS Simulation
Figure 6 _ q
2
vs time
120
90
60
30
0
30
60
90
120
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Mathematical Model
ADAMS Simulation
time (s)
q
.
2

(

/
s
)
Figure 7 Step response curve of q
1
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
time (s)
q
1

(

)
Figure 8 Step response curve of q
2
186
180
174
168
162
156
150
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
time (s)
q
2

(

)
Figure 9 Allocator inputs
80
60
40
20
20
40
60
80
100

(
N
)
0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
v
1
v
2
2.0
time (s)
Figure 10 Allocator outputs
120
80
40
40
80
120
160
0
0.0
a
c
t
u
a
t
o
r

f
o
r
c
e
s

(
N
)
0.5 1.0 1.5
Fa
Fbk
Fc
2.0
time (s)
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
30
morphing wing is developed based on Lagrange method from
the viewpoint of energy. Many springs are used to simulate the
elasticity of the external skin. The aerodynamic load acting on
the leading edge is also taken into account. Since the structure
of the morphing wing is a strongly coupled, over-actuated
nonlinear system, the controller is divided into three
subsystems, which are designed independently. The control
allocator is designed based on pseudo inverse method; the
linearization and the decoupling of the original system are
achieved by the dynamic inversion controller; two PID
controllers are designed based on classical linear control
theory. According to the simulation results using ADAMS
and Matlab, the validity of the dynamic model and the
controller is veried.
Further work
In order to obtain a more realistic dynamic model of the
system, factors such as structure exibility and the dynamics
of the actuators will be considered in the further research.
And also the reconstruction control for the actuator fault will
be studied.
References
Flanagan1, J.S., Strutzenberg, R.C., Myers, R.B. and
Rodrian, J.E. (2007), Development and ight testing of a
morphing aircraft, the NextGen MFX-1, paper presented at
48th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural
Dynamics, and Materials Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii,
AIAA 2007-1707, 23-26 April.
Johnson, T., Frecker, M., Abdalla, M., Gurdal, Z.
and Lindner, D. (2009), Nonlinear analysis and
optimization of diamond cell morphing wings, Journal of
Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Vol. 20,
pp. 815-24.
Joo, J.J. and Sanders, B. (2009), Optimal location of
distributed actuators within an in-plane multi-cell
morphing mechanism, Journal of Intelligent Material
Systems and Structures, Vol. 20, pp. 481-92.
OGrady, B. (2010), Multi-objective optimization of a three
cell morphing wing substructure, working paper,
University of Dayton, Dayton, May.
Rodriguez, A.R. (2007), Morphing aircraft technology
survey, paper presented at 45th AIAA Aerospace
Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, AIAA
2007-1258, 8-11 January.
Seigler, T.M. and Neal, D.A. (2009), Analysis of transition
stability for morphing aircraft, Journal of Guidance,
Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 32, pp. 1947-53.
Seigler, T.M., Neal, D.A., Bae, J.-S. and Inman, D.J. (2007),
Modeling and ight control of large-scale morphing
aircraft, Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 44, pp. 1077-87.
Westfall, J.T., Caneld, R.A., Joo, J.J. and Sanders, B.P.
(2007), Multi-disciplinary optimization of a distributed
actuation system in a exible morphing wing, paper
presented at 48th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC
Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials
Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, AIAA 2007-1715,
23-26 April.
Further reading
Andersen, G.R., Cowan, D.L. and Piatak, D.J. (2007),
Aeroelastic modelling analysis and testing of a morphing
wing structure, paper presented at 48th AIAA/ASME/
ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics,
and Materials Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii,
AIAA 2007-1734, 23-26 April.
Bodson, M. (2002), Evaluation of optimization methods
for control allocation, Journal of Guidance, Control, and
Dynamics, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 703-11.
Khelassi, A., Weber, P. and Theilliol, D. (2010),
Recongurable control design for over-actuated systems
based on reliability indicators, paper presented at 2010
Conference on Control and Fault Tolerant Systems, Nice,
France, 6-8 October.
Rehman, O.U., Fidan, B. and Peterson, I. (2009),
Uncertainty modeling for robust multivariable control
synthesis of hypersonic ight vehicle, paper presented at
16th AIAA/DLR/DGLR International Space Planes and
Hypersonic System and Technologies Conference,
AIAA2009-7288.
Corresponding author
Shi Rongqi can be contacted at: shirongqiqi@bit.edu.cn
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
Dynamics and control for an in-plane morphing wing
Shi Rongqi and Song Jianmei
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
Volume 85 Number 1 2013 2431
31