Robust nonlinear control of a hypersonic aircraft in the presence of aerothermoelastic effects

Hypersonic flight conditions produce temperature variations that can alter the flight dynamics. A nonlinear temperature dependent, parameter varying state-space representation is proposed to capture the aerothermoelastic effects in a hypersonic vehicle. This model includes an uncertain parameter varying state matrix, an uncertain parameter varying non-square (column deficient) input matrix, and a nonlinear additive bounded disturbance. A Lyapunov-based continuous robust output feedback controller is developed that yields global exponential tracking of a reference model, despite the presence of disturbances that do not satisfy the linear-in-the parameters (LP) assumption.