Aircraft fault tolerant control based on active set method

This communication considers the case in which an aerodynamic actuator failure occurs to an aircraft while it has to perform a guidance manoeuver. The problem considered deals with the reassignment of the remaining actuators to continue to perform the manoeuver while maintaining the structural integrity of the aircraft. A nonlinear inverse control technique is used to generate online nominal moments along the three main axes of the aircraft. Then, taking into account all material and structural constraints as well as the redundant effects from other actuators, a Mathematical Programming problem to be solved online is introduced. The proposed on line solution method is based on an active set method which appears to provide acceptable response times according to the simulation results. Then new development perspectives are discussed.