In this paper, a linear parameter varying (LPV) modeling and control design approach is applied to a new class of guided projectiles, aiming to exploit the advantages of the LPV framework in terms of guaranteed stability and performance. The investigated concept consists of a planar symmetric 155 mm fin-stabilized projectile equipped with a reduced amount of control actuators and characterized by a predominantly unstable behavior across the analyzed flight envelope. A dedicated modeling procedure allows reformulating the nonlinear projectile dynamics as a LPV polytopic system, employed for the controller design. The procedure intends to reduce the computational complexity and the conservativeness affecting the overall controller synthesis. A trajectory-tracking simulation scenario is performed in a realistic simulator environment to assess the performance of the resulting LPV polytopic autopilot across the entire flight envelope.

Promising results on LPV design have been recently proposed, concerning the modeling and control of missiles, rockets, and aircraft. However, very few investigations have been focused on the development of guided projectile applications. This paper presents a pure linear parameter varying (LPV) modeling and control design approach intended to improve the range capability of a new class of Long Range Guided Projectiles (LRGP). The investigated concept consists of an asymmetric 155 mm fin-stabilized projectile equipped with a reduced amount of control actuators and characterized by a predominant unstable behavior across the analyzed flight envelope. The main advantages of the LPV design in terms of guaranteed robustness and stability are compared to standard gain-scheduling-based linear time-invariant (LTI) control strategies. A nonlinear simulation scenario is performed in order to assess the reliability of a pure LPV autopilot design, based on the polytopic formulation, across the entire flight envelope, over a local modal control design related to a specific set of flight conditions.

This paper proposes a Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) controller design for the pitch channel dynamics of a new class of Long Range Guided Projectiles (LRGP). The grid-based approach is preferred since it provides advantages in terms of performance and conservatism. Differently from standard aerospace applications that limit the scheduling vector to the variation of the altitude and the Mach number, the investigated flight envelope is parameterized through a 3D grid, which includes the variation of the angle-of-attack, crucial for range optimization purposes. Thus, an extensive investigation of the grid design is required to minimize the computational complexity of the controller synthesis. The performances of the LPV controller are assessed by employing a nonlinear reference tracking simulation scenario.