The Application of Synergetic Control in Nonlinear Control Systems on the Example of Airship Flight Control

Abstract

The problem of cruise control of a low-altitude airship is considered. The initial moment of the airship is on the ground, and the take-off phase is considered as a transition process to the cruise state, demanding that the airship cruises at the desired altitude and speed. The material covered in the article is directly related to the special annual course, which was delivered for several years at the Department of Synergetic and Process Control to masters of the second year of study. This course introduces such key concepts of the synergetic control as a whole, such as “macro-variable”, “invariant manifold”, “basic functional equation”; the general methodology for the synthesis of scalar and vector aggregated controllers is considered; examples of practical synthesis of nonlinear aggregated systems are presented. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the problem of applying synergetic control ideas in a nonlinear control system. It is illustrated how the attitude, velocity and trajectory of an airship can be controlled with feedback control forces and moments under certain initial conditions and system parameters in order for students to fully understand the idea of synthesis of control laws. The article will be useful for students, as well as for teachers working with the master’s degree second-year students.