Energy based stability analysis of a fuzzy roll controller design for a flexible aircraft wing

A fuzzy-logic-based roll controller design is presented for the experimental advanced technology wing (ATW). The ATW integrated active controls with flexible structural dynamics for enhanced performance. The authors initially designed and tested controllers using classical control design concepts, but the high level of model uncertainties and the many approximations in the real-time system dynamics led them to investigate a fuzzy-logic-based system. The design, performance simulation, controller performance, and stability analysis of the fuzzy controller are described. The stability analysis considers a continuous-time dynamic model combined with a discrete-time fuzzy controller. An energy-based technique using Lyapunov theory is then applied. The analysis shows that the control system is stable