Fault detection, isolation, and accommodation in a UAV longitudinal control system

In this paper, we present a multiple-model based method of analyzing for the longitudinal controller performance loss caused by actuator faults in the aircraft elevator system. More specifically, we consider the effects of the failure-induced elevator actuator bandwidth reduction integrated with the longitudinal flight dynamics. Results of the proposed multiple-model based fault detection, isolation, and accommodation (FDIA) algorithm are applied to an uninhabited air vehicle (UAV) subject to multiple actuator failures. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed fault-tolerant controller is an effective and efficient FDIA methodology, and could practically be vital to attack a wide range of similar applications.