Modelling, Control, and Handling Quality Analysis of the Flying-V

Over the last five decades, the majority of commercial aircraft consisted of the traditional tube-and-wing configuration. This traditional configuration is approaching a fuel efficiency asymptote. Besides that, with the increasing number of passengers and cargo transported by air every year, and environmental impact as an important factor in aircraft design, there is a necessity for a solution that is able to boost aircraft efficiency. Currently, the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft is working on a promising aircraft configuration, namely the Flying-V. This is a specific type of flying wing that is tailless, V-shaped, and consists of two cylindrical pressurised cabins located in the leading edge of the wing. Wind tunnel experiments show that the aircraft is longitudinally statically stable up to an angle of attack of 20¶, after that pitch break occurs. Besides that, research performed on the aerodynamic coefficients obtained using the Vortex Lattice Method and results from the maiden flight test of a scale model of the aircraft conclude that the Dutch roll mode is unstable. Therefore, this research defines a set of key stability and handling quality requirements based on civil aviation authorities combined with military standards for cruise- and approach conditions. These key requirements are consequently assessed with a simulation model of the aircraft using aerodynamic coefficients obtained from the Vortex Lattice Method and wind tunnel experiments. In an attempt to make the key stability and handling quality characteristics of the TU Delft Flying-V adhere to the defined requirements, this thesis aims to contribute to this research field by designing a nonlinear Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (INDI) flight control system that is applied to the simulation model of the aircraft. Finally, the performance of the aircraft using this flight control system is assessed and proposals for aerodynamic design changes and control layout design changes are given.Aerospace Engineerin