Adaptive prescribed performance filter backtepping control design of a hypersonic vehicle

In this paper, a prescribed performance control (PPC) problem of a flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicle (FAHV) under uncertainty is presented. A curve-fitted model of FAHV is firstly described, then a control-oriented model (COM) is achieved to design controller simply. Then an adaptive filter backstepping control scheme is designed considering aerodynamic uncertainty and prescribed performance on tracking errors of altitude and velocity. The lumped uncertainty is dealt with by adaptive law where the bound is not required to be known in advance, and the prescribed performance on tracking errors is solved by transforming a constrained problem into an unconstrained problem. A novel first-order filter is designed to avoid the `explosion of terms' problem existed in traditional backstepping control. Furthermore, the stability of the resulting closed-loop system is proved. At last, simulation result shows the effectiveness of the developed controller.