Flight Control Reconfiguration Using Model Reference Adaptive Control

A simplified multivariable model reference adaptive control (MRAC) is shown to provide control reconfiguration for the AFTI/F16 during single, double, triple, and quadruple control surface failures¹. The simplified MRAC is unique in that it may employ a reduced order model and is applicable to unstable nonminimum phase plants. The MRAC is capable of implicitly redistributing the control effort among the aircrafts effective surfaces without explicit knowledge of the failure. The resulting control reconfiguration forces the aircraft to approximate the reference model trajectories. The AFTI/F16 model used for simulations incorporated the nonlinear rate and saturation limited servo dynamics.