Modified model reference adaptive control of UAV with wing damage

This paper presents a modified model reference adaptive control (MRAC) combined with a sideslip controller to mitigate common UAV failures especially wing damages. A trim analysis is developed to introduce the control strategy that sideslip angle which can produce extra control forces and moments can be utilized to balance the vicious effects caused by asymmetric damages. A practical sideslip controller is designed based on proportional-integral-derivative type control logic. A modified MRAC method is explored and applied to guarantee the global asymptotical stability of the damaged systems. Simulations show that this blended controller can increase the reliability of UAV in the presence of wing damages.