Sliding Mode Reconfigurable Fault Tolerant Control for Nonlinear Aircraft Systems

In this paper, a sliding mode reconfigurable control algorithm without dedicated fault detection and identification module is developed for nonlinear aircraft systems with partial loss fault or total failure such as stuck or floating. The redundant actuators are integrated with the regular actuators in the controller seamlessly when faults or failures occur in the regular actuators. This method monitors the sliding surface to decide if the redundant actuator should be activated. The stability of the control system was proved by using Lyapunov method, and the effectiveness of the control system is validated by the simulation results of longitudinal control of a nonlinear model of Boeing 747. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.