Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Based Control of a Generic Hypersonic Vehicle (GHAME)

Conference Paper (2026)
Author(s)

N.T. Mueller (Student TU Delft)

Spilios Theodoulis (TU Delft - Control & Simulation)

Ioannis Sarras (Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales)

Research Group
Control & Simulation
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2026-0548
More Info
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Publication Year
2026
Language
English
Research Group
Control & Simulation
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. (AIAA)
ISBN (electronic)
978-1-62410-765-8
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Abstract

The Flying V concept aircraft represents a notable candidate to reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, with a potential 20% decrease in fuel use and a 17% higher lift-overdrag ratio. However, given the inherent design limitations concerning low control authority and pitch break-up tendencies, a well-designed control system is crucial for the aircraft’s safe operation. Thus, this study proposes a systematic design and tuning of a digital longitudinal flight control system that explicitly addresses robustness specifications a-priori. The flight dynamics simulation modeling is first detailed, followed by the outline and discussion of the design specifications. A C∗ longitudinal control law is designed using a signal-based Hinf framework. Results indicate effective disturbance and noise rejection, stability under parametric uncertainties, Level 1 handling qualities, and satisfactory performance in the nonlinear model. These results validate the control law’s effectiveness, paving the way for future enhancements in gain-scheduled controllers for the Flying V.

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