Implementation of control techniques for generic vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are self-piloted or remotely piloted aircrafts that have the capacity to fly without anyon-board operator. Recent advancements in technology have given rise to the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both military and civil applications. The Ducted Fan UAV (DUAV) is a distinct class of UAV that is small, easy to maneuver and is needed to perform dexterous tasks. Its requirement becomes manifest for the operations in restricted environments, where ducted fan configuration offers some distinct advantages over conventional UAV designs since it has vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities, in addition to ascribing the typical aircraft characteristics. One of the greatest challenges in the design on this class of UAV is to automate the entire range of operations which involve; VTOL, hovers, maneuvers, and transitions between vertical and horizontal flights. By taking into account the design distinctiveness, the existence of some uncertainties in the vehicle characteristics and in predicting the stability, and the requirements to perform all necessary flight regimes in the occurrence of disturbances, the requirement of an advanced and consistent control strategy for this type ofUAV has become apparent. This thesis presents a comprehensive description of the steps taken to find a suitable control mechanism for DUAVs. The research work initiated with literature review of modeling of DUAVs followed by implementation of various control techniques in different UAV related projects. The preliminary task was to derive a mathematical model for a generic DUAV. Once, a mathematical model was designed in MATLAB, several controllers including Proportional Integral Derivative (PID), Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and also Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) were developed and tested in MATLAB for the autonomous maneuvering of the UAV. The response of the UAV under disturbances was also investigated. Since, aircraft parameters are not always accurate, and always contain certain level of uncertainty; the effect of change in parameters is analyzed in the control systems. Simulation results were used to compare the relative performance of these control algorithms in several fields including stabilization, efficiency, disturbance rejection, sensitivity to parameters etc.Master of Science (Computer Control and Automation