Study on vertical landing of unmanned aerial vehicle using thrusters

Abstract

Former landing methods of fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles need long runway, otherwise are only applicable to small and light aircrafts. This thesis paper is about a new landing method, which can overcome flaws, by using thrusters for UAVs. The suggested landing technique is a combination of Deep-Stall Landing for some small UAVs, JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) for special purpose freights and Powered Descent Landing for lunar landing vehicles. Firstly, creation of the inertia model and aerodynamic model of the UAV for simulating is dealt. Particularly, a method for aerodynamic modeling covering high angle of attack region is introduced. After mentioning optimal control theory briefly, the trajectory optimization is considered in a simple two dimensional point-mass model, longitudinal motion model and 6 degrees of freedom motion model. Lastly, vertical landing control algorithm including pitch angle and rate control is based on result from the trajectory optimization. In addition, this paper dealt with the method of solving analytically or approximately the dynamic equations of motion of the point-mass in the process of complementing the control algorithm. By using it, a method to improve the landing algorithm is proposed.