Modeling and control of helicopters carrying suspended loads

Helicopters are often used to transport supplies and equipment. When a heavy load is carried via suspension cables below a helicopter, the load oscillates in response to helicopter motion and disturbance forces, such as wind. This oscillation is dangerous and adversely affects control of the helicopter, especially when carrying large or heavy loads. By adding input shaping to the helicopter's flight controller, the suspended load oscillation caused by helicopter motion is greatly reduced. A significant benefit of this approach is that it does not require measurement of the load position. This thesis contains derivations and analysis of simple planar helicopter-load dynamic models, and these models are verified using experimental data from model-scale, radio-controlled helicopters. The effectiveness of input shaping at eliminating suspended load oscillation is then demonstrated on this experimental hardware. In addition, the design of an attitude command, near-hover flight controller that combines input shaping and a common flight control architecture is illustrated using dynamic models of a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, and simulation results are shown for example lateral and longitudinal repositioning movements. Results show that applying input shaping to simulated pilot commands greatly improves performance when carrying a suspended load.MSCommittee Chair: Singhose, William; Committee Member: Costello, Mark; Committee Member: Johnson, Eri