Modeling and Controller Design of Twin Rotor

SystedHelicopter Lab Process Developed at PIEAS

Kamran Ullah Khan and Dr. Naeenr lqbal
Department of Electrical Engineering. Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sclences
Nilore, Islamabad. Pakistan
Emails: naeemlihieas.cdu.uk
kamr3ii(iiiDieas,edu.uk

Abstract- This reporr presents the nrodeling and connected at right angle. The bar 11, acts as the horizontal
controller design f o r U Twin rotor svsreni (TRS). This I S a axis.
Two Input Two Output Nonlineor Svstenr, having strong
Two rotors are mounted on the lever arm: a Main rotor RM
cross coupling bcrween rhr inptrrs and the oulpurs. . The
and a Tail rotor RI,with the resultant aerodynamic forces
rask is IO conrrol rhe angular posirioii (the azintrth angle
giving rise to moments in the e and @ directions
mid rhe elevariotr angle/ Ofsvstent. Nonlinear equations of
respectively. The voltages U , and u7 to the rotor motors are
azinrurh and elevation angles are derived in state space
the inputs to the process, A weight ni,, is mounted at an
using Euler-Lagrange equations. The ntodel is then
adjustable position on the lever arm towards rotor R,.
lineurized and controller is applied to conlrol horh the
angular positiorrs si~nu1raneo~sl.v.Rotor forces are
ralculafed experimenroll>. A se^ of riiodel paranreters f o r
rlie sysrern is also provided at rhe end.

Keywords: Modeling, linear/zatioii, stare-space. coupling. TZ

optimal control, LQC control. Kalnranjilter.
1 INTRODUCTION I
TRS is developed at PIEAS for the purpose of studying the
dynamics of nonlinear multi input multi output (MIMO)
systems. Specifically. this is a two input two output
nonlinear system. The plant consists of two rotors. a main
I rotor and a tail rotor, mounted at each end of a lever bar.
These rotors can rotate the lever bar about a horizontal
axis and a venical axis. The angular positions of the lever
bar about the two axles are the two outputs of the plant.
Mechanical configuration of the plant is shown in figure 1

The task is to control the angular position of the lever bar.

The plant has two degrees of freedom; the azimuth angle
(position in horizontal plane about the vertical axis) @and
the elevation angle (tilt in vertical plane about the
horizontal axis) 0. There is a strong coupling between
movements about both axes. as each of'the rotors can Figure 1 : TRS Configuration
rotate the lever bas about both the vertical and horizontal
axes.
2.1 Kinematics
Mathematical modeling and controller design for the plant
are explained in the subsequent sections. Consider an eanh fixed reference with origin at 0 and
with z-axis along the vertical axis as shown in figure I .
2 Modeling Denote an origin 0' at the end of h2. Let [.r(Rj.yIR), z(R)1
be a point P on the lever bar in terms of the distance R
Mathematical model of the TRS is derived using the Euler-
from 0 ' in the earth fixed reference. Then from figure I .,
Lagrange approach. we have.
~

A schematic picture of the process is shown in figure I .

.r(R) = I,, cas4 -1RcosHth. s l n @ ) s i n @
The TRS consists of a venical axis A. on which a lever

Proceedings IEEE INMIC 2003 321

 v , ( R ) = a =-h, s i n k - ( R c o s e + h , s i n B ) c o s g ( - 1
T = - ( m h : + J,cos'B + m g s i n ' B +2mh,l~sm8cos%+
J8)$
dt 2
(-RsinB+ h, cos0)singd I I
+-( J , +mh:)8* --(2mh,lr sine -2m4h, case)@
2 2
~JR) = 4 cosq+(Rcos8+ sine)sin~+ (2)
dt (10)
(-RsinO+h, COS~)COS@
V = mglc sin% - h,mgcose

~ ~ ( R ) =WQ)
-=RcosBe+h,sin8e
dt 2.3 Equations of motion
Now we will use Euler-Lagrange equation to derive
The squared magnitude of the velocity of point P is then
equations of motion in two dimensions 0 and 4. Thus,
given by:
forming the Lagrangian
v*(R)= V : ( ~ ) + ~ ; ( ~ ) + ~ : ( ~ )
L=T-Y (11)
=(~1+~'~~s~e+~sin'~+2Rh,cosesin~)~+
the equations of motion are given by
(R' +rg)d2+(-2h,Rsin0 +24h,cos%)(d (3)

2.2 Energy Expression

The kinetic and potential energies are derived from
I
T =- ~ v ' ( R ) ~ . ( R ) (4) where 5, and T o are net torques ahout vertical and
2
horizontal axes.
V = g jz(R)d. (RI (5)
Using(IO)and(ll)in(lZ)gives
where Tis the kinetic energy, Vis the potential energy and +(mh: + J , cos18+mh:sin'O+ Zmh,l, sin8cos8+ J , $
g is the acceleration due to gravity.
+(-2J, sine cos0 + 2mhi sin 8 cos0 + 2mh,l~(cos'e -sin' %))&e
From (I), (3), ( 4 ) and (5). the equations for kinetic and
+(mh,h, cos6 -mh,l, sinO)&-(mh,h, sin0 + m41r cos%)8' = r,
potential energies of the lever bar become
(13)
1 (m4hi cos%-mh,l, sinO)$+(J, +mh:)e
T - -(m$ + J , cos'l3 +mhi sin'@ +2mh21csinecos@)$
L-2 (6)
-(-Jc sin%cos%+ +mh: sinecos9 +mh,l,(cos'% -sin'%))$
1 1
+ - ( J , +mh;l)@ --(2mh,lv sine -2mh,h, cos%)/8 +mgcos%g+mgh,sine=rs
2 2
V, =mgl,sinO-mgh,cosO In matrix form, ( 13) can he written as
and for the vertical axis
0(0.8)[%]+E(1.8,4.ei[~.]+g(b,R, = r (14)
I
T --J,b 'I
*-2 where
(7)
VA= o
Where J , E jR*dm(R)is the inertia, , LL m
j R d m ( R ) is the

center of gravity and m E j d , ( ~ ) i sthe mass of the lever

bar. J , is the inertia of the vertical axis. (Numerical
values of these parameters may be found in section 6)
Total Kinetic and potential energies ofthe system are:
c
g(+.%)= mgl,cos8+mgh,sine
O I

T = T , +T, (8)
d,,= m h ~ + J , c o s 2 e + m h ~ s i n ' 8 + 2 m h , l ~ s i n % c o s e + J ,
V=V,+V, (9)
d,,=d,, =mh,h,~osB-m/5/~sin6
Using (6) and (7) in (8) and (9), we have
d,, = J , +mh:

e,, = ( - J L sine cos0 + mh,lr(cos' 0 -sin' %)+mh;sin%c o s e ) e

322 Proceedings IEEE INMIC 2003

 e,, = ( - J , sinOcosO+mh:l, (cos'% -sin'8) cmh: sin8cosO)d -=$
d#
dr
-(mh,( cos0 +mh,h, sin%)8

e*, = -(-J' sine cosa + m/z*/,(cos' e -sin2 a ) + mh; sine cos%))

e,, = 0

2.4 Rotors and Aerodynamic Torque

The. inputs to the TRS are the voltages applied to the
motors of the main and the tail rotors. These voltages are
then convened to aerodynamic forces by the rotors due to
rotation of the motors. Differential equations of both the
rotors are
Main Rotor (RM):

and 4 Equilibrium Point

Tail Rotor (RT): Equations (18) may be solved for stationary point
( @ o , ~ ~ , u , , o by
, u ~setting
o~ all the derivatives in (18) equal
to zero
where u i and U? are the input voltages (actuating signals), Equations (18) were coded into a MATLAB@ s-function
T, and T? are the time constants, k , and k? are the motor and a SIMULINK@ model was created. The MATLAB
constants and 61, and @ are the angular velocities of the function 'trim' was used to find out the equilibrium point.
i main rotor and the tail rotor respectively. The equilibrium point thus found is
The resulting aerodynamic torques about the vertical and % =0,[0,2nl
horizontal axes are a, = -0.3292 rad
U I 0 = 2.5 VOllS
7, =M,*I,w:cosa-T"**I,o~cos%-K,)
(17) U,,"= 1.335 VOlIS
re = - M , * I , o : + 7 ; . * I , o : - ~ ~ e
where
4.1 Linear Model
M,,=Aerodynamic drag coefficient main rotor Equations (18) may be used to find the linear model ofthe
Mv=Aerodynamic lift coefficient main rotor plant by evaluating the Jacobian of (18) on the equilibrium
point given in ( I 9). The MATLAB function 'linmod' was
TH= Aerodynamic lift coefficient tail rotor
used to find out the linear model of the plant about the
Tr= Aerodynamic drag coefficient main rotor equilibrium point. The linearized model thus found is
given below:
Km= Coefficient of friction of vertical axle bearing
i=A,r+Bu
Ke= Coefficient of friction of horizontal axle bearing y=G
3 Non-linear state space Model where
The complete set of equations describing TRS is given by
(14), (IS) and (16). Rewriting these equations in state-
space form gives:

Proceedings IEEE INMIC 2003 323

 I 0 0 0 J = l 1i -m
1 E{[(yT@+urRu)d~ (21)
-0.3583 0.1167 0.0170 -0.0256
0.0110
0 0 I 0 Q=Q'>o.R=R'>o
-4.1461 -0.3909 -0.0312 0.0060
0 0 -0.2000 0 where K, is Kalman filter gain. A loop transfer recovery
procedure I?] led to the controller having forward path
0 0 0 0 0 -0.4000
open loop gains as shown in the figure 5. The controller
0 0 0
together with the Kalman filter was discretized using
sampling time 0.55 seconds. The discrete time controller is
0 0 0 0 0 9.0909
given by
i,,,= F i , +Cy,
(22)
ui=Hi,
4.1 .I Open loop Response where
0.441 I 0.3411 0.0302 0.0089 O.CQ04 0.0CQ2 0 0
The open loop responses of the system in vertical and -0.2659 0.7W8 0.0587 00231 0.0009 40006 0 0
horizontal planes are shown below. It can be observed that 0.0159 O.Oll5 0.4287 0.3878 -0.0409 6.8~10' 0 0
the system is unstable in horizontal plane. The coupling 4.0127 0.0207 -1.6211 0.3146 -0.0411 5.9~10' 0 0
between both the axes can also be observed. F=
-0.0566 -1.2619 0.5368 0.1855 4 0 0 1 5 0.0012 0 0
0.1142 2.0399 0.2086 0.1725 0.0025 -0.0017 0 0
25.

Xi.
.
: - sw 0712 nd baWb MS" Roolor '
S14DlO~rDd~d,wllllOT.llDla
. . -o.iw
0.3691
m i 3 8 a4067
0.1072 0.1451
o.ii8o -0.0002
0.0413 3 4 x 1 0 '
4.9xio? I o /
- 7 . 7 ~ 1 0 ' 0 I!

.=[ 0.5558 0.2524 -0.0117 0.0205 4.4552 0.6978 0.1192 0.16951'

0.0240 -0.0246 0.0461 0.0368 .1.0833 0.3284 -0.5043 0 . l 7 6 l J

"=[ 1.6886 -4.3330 -0.0390 00261 -1.1168 0.0034 -I

2.6737 6.8519 0.0027 0.1611 0.0491 -3.1246 0

Figure 2: Open loop response in horizontal plane.

Figure 4: Controller stmciure

.7m . . .
Figure 3: Open loop response in vertical plane d 102 30'' I f 10
Fr-nr" IWW,

5 Controller Design Figure 5: Open loop principal gains before and after
The controller stmcture is shown in figure 4 where compensation.
B the transfer function matrix of the
G ( S ) = C ( ~ / - A ) - ' is
In actual testing a 12-bit ADC and an 8 bit DAC with a
plant. K , is the gain that minimizes the cost zero order hold was used, a first order analog filter with
comer frequency at 20 Hz was used to attenuate high

324 Proceedings IEEE INMIC 2003

frequency noise. The controller implementation is shown 0.1, : . : . . . . .
in figure 6. where qZ)= ~ (-F d) - ' G .
I

............................. I

Figure 6: Implementation of the controller

5.1.1 Closed Loop Response 4.sL...a . , ... ...I. ...... .- J

P I O Q ~ I ~ W L O
m lucl
The closed loop response of the system after the
application of the above controller is shown below. The Figure 9: Closed loop response of actual system (Vertical
unstable response in horizontal plane is now stabilized and Plane)
follows the step as depicted by figure 7 and 8.
Parameters
0 1, . . , . . , ..... Parameter Value Unit

Am length to tail

Mass of lever m bar 0.0743

Horizontal distance
fmm vertical axle to
lever bar
Vertical distance from
bar
d i m c c from pivot to
weight 1, 0.0519 m
Mass of weight m. 0.1027 k3

Figure 7:Closed loop response in MATLAB simulation

Mass of main rotor
(fins+motor+( base
+ fasteners)
II II
m4 0.4147 II kg 1
Mass of tail rotor
3.S! . (tins + motor + ( bast m2 0.3768 kg
3;.
Time constant for
2.Sj
Time constant for tail
-P 2;
mtor
-1s.

$ 3: .'

A d y n a m i c drag
1 0 5 ; . . cafficientforMain MI, 2.8Ox10' N-.'/d
01
*.I/

.,L ...... L~ . , . . . ....

i
~

0 70 W * % %
WtUCI Aerodynamic lift
coefficient forTail TH 7 . 0 8 ~ 1 0 ~ N-.'I"G+'
Figure 8: Closed loop response of actual system
Motor constant for
(Horizontal Plane)
Motor constant for tail
4.4~10"
CoctMimt of friction
ofvertical axle k n g K* I 1 0.01 ".N

of horizontal axle KB 0.01 N-nrYI

bearing

Proceedings IEEE INMIC 2003

The total ,,iass of the lever bar is
m = "4 + m, +m, +q =0.9685kg

The moment of inertia for the lever bar is the sum of the
moment of inertia for the solid lever bar and for the point
masses of the rotors and the weight:
m /'+/I
JL = '-+,n,/; +mJ; emv/:,=0.0255kg-m2
3 I, + l2
The moment of inertia for the vertical axis may be
neglected:
J, r O

The center of gravity of lever bar is

I, - /
I =m-+ nr,,, - m,/* - m"/" = 0.0019m
L ' 2 m

7 Conclusion
We have presented modeling and control of Twin Rotor
Control System, it is a two input two output system having
strong off-diagonal coupling. The system is inherently
unstable and non-linear as shown in the mathematical
model. Parameters of the model were determined
experimentally and from basic principles of physics. A
Linear Quadratic Gaussian controller was designed and its
response was demonstrated in simulation and on actual
system. Response of the actual system was in a good
agreement with the simulation results and well according
to expectations as could be seen in the closed loop plots.
REFERENCES
[ I ] Maciejowski J.M. Mu/rivuriub/e Feedbuck Design.
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1989.
[2] Magnus Gafven. Modelling of rhe ETH Helicoprer
Laboraroty Process, Department. of Automatic
Control, Lund Institute of Technology, Box 118, SE-
221 00 Lund Sweden, ISRN L I J T F D 2 n F R T - 7 5 9 6
SE, November 2001.
[3] Gary Fay. Derivarion of rhe Aerodynamic Forces for
the Mesicoprer Simularion. httD:Iladn.stanford.edu/
mesicopterlPropressReDortslmesicoDteraeromodel .Ddf.

326 Proceedings IEEE INMIC 2003