Investigating Nonlinear Control Architecture Options for Aerial Refueling

Abstract

In prior research, the nonlinear equations of motion for a receiver vehicle are dened relative to an accelerating tanker body and result in a system describing relative motion, convenient for the aerial refueling control formulation. The purpose of this paper is to present briey the current linear control law in place for this aerial refueling application and to investigate an alternative approach with an Input-Output Feedback Linearization (IOFL), nonlinear control law architecture. While the traditional Jacobian linearization methodology for linear control law formulation is a tried and true toolbox, the benets of employing a nonlinear control law are many and range from the alleviation of gain scheduling across multiple nominal conditions, as well as potential accommodation for higher order eects (neglected in a low order linearization).