Research on the Course and Turn-rate Coordinated Control for an Air Cushion Vehicle

The characteristics of the air cushion vehicle (ACV) show that the ACV is easy to be Broaching-to (the craft suddenly and unintentionally thrown or cause to turn, broadside to its original direction of motion). If the turning-rate is not to be controlled during ACV in the course keeping, the turning-rate and slide-angle will reach the warning or danger value that maybe led the ACV to be broaching-to or turndown. In this paper, the course and turning-rate control methods based on nonlinear back-stepping control theory are researched, and the coordinated control strategies are given. Control method and coordinated control strategy are used in the real-time ACV automatic control system. The results of the simulation show that the control method and coordinated control strategy are very effective and make the ACV moved more gently and stability and sail much more safely.