Integrated adaptive feed-forward control of atmospheric turbulence excited rigid body motions and structural vibrations on a large transport aircraft

An adaptive feed-forward controller for simultaneous compensation of atmospheric turbulence excited rigid body motions and structural vibrations is designed. Proposed feed-forward control is intended as an add-on to current gust load alleviation systems. The objectives thereby are increased passenger comfort and handling qualities, as well as a more efficient reduction of dynamic wing loads. A steepest descent algorithm is applied in order to increase the robustness of the performance of the feed-forward control system against modeling errors and variations of wing tanks configuration and Mach number. The proposed algorithm is tested in numeric simulations with the state space model of a conventional four-engine transport aircraft. The simulation results illustrate the proposed control system's high potential for simultaneous compensation of atmospheric turbulence excited pitch and wing bending accelerations.