Vertical flight path and speed control autopilot design using total energy principles

A genera l ized automatic f l i g h t c o n t r o l system has been developed, t h a t i n t e g r a t e s a l l l o n g i t u d i n a l f l i g h t pa th and speed c o n t r o l func t ions , p r e v i o u s l y prov ided by a p i t c h a u t o p i l o t and a u t o t h r o t t l e . I n t h i s design, a n e t t h r u s t comnand i s computed based on t o t a l energy demand a r i s i n g f rom bo th f l i g h t pa th and speed t a r g e t s . The e l e v a t o r command i s computed based on t h e energy d i s t r i b u t i o n e r r o r between f l i g h t pa th and speed. The engine c o n t r o l i s con f igu red t o produce t h e commanded n e t t h r u s t . The design incorpora tes c o n t r o l s t r a t e g i e s and h ie ra rchy t o deal s y s t e m a t i c a l l y and e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h a l l a i r c r a f t opera t iona l requirements, c o n t r o l n o n l i n e a r i t i e s and performance l i m i t s . Consis tent decoupled maneuver c o n t r o l i s achieved f o r a l l modes and f l i g h t c o n d i t i o n s w i t h o u t ou te r loop ga in schedules, c o n t r o l law submodes o r c o n t r o l f u n c t i o n d u p l i c a t i o n .