Design of a T Factor Based RBFNC for a Flight Control System

Abstract

This paper presents the design of modified radial basic function neural controller (MRBFNC) for the pitch control of an aircraft to obtain the desired pitch angel as required by the pilot while maneuvering an aircraft. In this design, the parameters of radial basis function neural controller (RBFNC) are optimized by implementing a feedback mechanism which is controlled by a tuning factor “α” (T factor). For a given input, the response of the RBFN controller is tuned by using T factor for better performance of the aircraft pitch control system. The proposed system is demonstrated under different condition (absence and presence of sensor noise). The simulation results show that MRBFNC performs better, in terms of settling time and rise time for both conditions, than the conventional RBFNC. It is also seen that, as the value of the T factor increases, the aircraft pitch control system performs better and settles quickly to its reference trajectory. A comparison between MRBFNC and conventional RBFNC is also established to discuss the superiority of the former techniques.