Fault tolerant flight control design against actuator impairments using optimal control and fault compensation

This paper presents the design of fault tolerant flight control (FTC) law to deal with actuators loss of effectiveness. A Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) approach was considered as a baseline controller augmented with tracking equations to follow command reference inputs. Fault-compensation-based approach was applied to act against actuator faults. The designed FTC law was examined by analysing the aircraft´s motion and the changes in actuators deflections. A mathematical model of the lateral motion of a DC-8 aircraft was used in this experiment. Simulation results showed that this technique is very effective to deal with actuator faults and to maintain the stability of the closed-loop system.