Parameter-Varying Control of the Ducted Fan

Bobby Bodenheimer, Electrical Engineering, Caltech

The ducted fan is a vectored thrust engine designed for experiments in nonlinear flight control. The hardware of the ducted fan is described in this talk, and then an introduction to a recent synthesis technique for controller design is presented. The technique, called Linear Parameter-Varying synthesis, seeks to get a theoretical handle on the problem of gain-scheduling. The results of designing and implementing LPV controllers on the ducted fan are presented. The talk will conclude with an overview of current research directions involving the fan.