Improved Solution methodologies for the inverse simulation problem with application to optimal trajectory planning

Improved solution methodologies are presented for the inverse simulation problem, and are used to obtain the control actions necessary for realising prescribed manoeuvres of fixed wing air vehicles. A methodology that does not rely on numerical treatments of the differential-algebraic equations is proposed to directly solve the equations of motion for trajectories defined within the longitudinal plane. For the more complex case of general 3d trajectories, a practical method for solving the general problem based on transforming all the state variables of the aircraft motion into functions of the angle of attack, side slip angle and bank angle is considered. The proposed techniques are applied to a Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) for reconnaissance purposes simulating relevant manoeuvres for its mission requirements, including the vertical circular loop and the horizontal circular loop manoeuvres. An optimisation process is coupled to the developed formulations to define the required control actions to achieve optimal trajectory parameters, and the corresponding flying conditions for these loops.