Three-dimensional impact angle guidance with coupled engagement dynamics

Abstract

This paper proposes three-dimensional impact angle control guidance laws based on a sliding mode control technique. Unlike the usual approach of decoupling the engagement dynamics into two mutually orthogonal two-dimensional planes, the guidance laws are derived using coupled engagement dynamics. By using this approach, the control effort required to achieve the objective reduces and the performance of the guidance law is improved. The derivations of guidance laws are done using both conventional as well as nonsingular terminal sliding mode control, which guarantees asymptotic and finite time convergence, respectively, to the desired impact angle. In order to derive the guidance laws, multi-dimensional switching surfaces are used. The stability of the system, with selected switching surfaces, is demonstrated using Lyapunov stability theory. Numerical simulation results are presented to validate the proposed guidance laws for constant speed, as well as a realistic interceptor model with given aerodynamic properties. The simulations show the advantage of using coupled dynamics. The robustness of the proposed guidance laws, with respect to the interceptor’s system lag, is also investigated.