[

Vol. 28, No. 5, 604/609 (1992)]

Minimum Fuel Cruise of Aircraft by Periodic Control

Seiya UENO*

The long-range aircraft cruise problem is very important for airlines which desire to minimize fuel
consumption. Many papers have been appeared including the case which the criteria involve cruising
time. Most of them, however, solve the problems under condition of a steady-state flight. In other word,
they optimize the constrained problem. In the present operation, the altitude and velocity are chosen the
optimal ones that are derived from the solution of a minimum fuel problem for a steady-state level flight.
This solution satisfies the neccessary conditions of optimality. However, it is shown that the steady
cruise is non-convex. The non optimality of a steady cruise is also reported, and the optimal solutions
are solved using a periodic control that repeats the same sequence of unsteady controls and trajectories.
In this paper, the long range minimum fuel problem is solved numerically under the assumption that
the optimal thrust control becomes a bang-bang type. The aircraft weight change during one period is
ignored. Under the boundary condition that the initial states are the same as the terminal ones, the
optimal problem is solved. The equations of motion for an aircraft is the point-mass model, the
atomospheric density is a funcion of the altitude.
It is shown that the optimal arc consists of two quasi-steady subarcs. It is also shown that the same
subarcs are derived by using a reduced order model. The optimal controls for this model become the
chattering type. The control and state variables of this solution are characteristic of the unsteady
optimal cruise.

Key Words: optimal control, periodic control, chattering, aircraft cruise

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* Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National Univer-
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sity, Yokohama

(Received July 22, 1991)
(Revised October 2, 1991) , 16). ,

TR 0005/92/2805-0604 (C) 1991 SICE

 : 605

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Fig. 2 Drag coefficient as a function of Mach number
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Table 1 Data of an aircraft used in analysis
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2.
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k=6 3).
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M=CT-SwM2(CD0+C2L)-sin (1a)
Table 1 .
=(SwM2CL-cos)/M (1b)

h=Msin (1c)
.
x=Mcos (1d)
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M, ,
. (t=0) (t=TF)
h ( ) x . ,
() .
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CL
M(0)=M(TF) (5a)
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(0)=(TF) (5b)
.
h(0)=h(TF) (5c)
CTminCTCTmax (2)
x(0)=0, x(TF)=XF (5d)
Sw, CD0, ,
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Sw , . ,
CD0 .
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Sw=Sw exp(-h) (3)
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CD0=CD0(1+Mk) (4)
J=1/XFTF0CTdt (6)
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3.

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Fig. 1 Variables in vertical motion .
 606 19925 28 5

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k-1/k+7<< (10)

2 1/k 7'ss=0
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hss=-1
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+GT(-j)Q+R ,
G(s)=(sI-A)-1B, H=L+Tf 2
A=f/, B=f/ . ,
P=2H/2, Q=2H/, R=2H/2 (8) boost-arc,
adjoint , coast-arc .
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z , ,

(8) , ,

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11=(){(14+2k)(2/)3-(12+4k)(2/)2
-(2-2k)(2/)} (9)

() .
Fig. 3 Transformation of a time axis
, (9) .

-XF=16
--- XF=8

--- XF=4

(a) Mach number (c) Lift coefficient

(b) Flight path angle (d) Trajectory

Fig. 4 Optimal trajectories by periodic control
(terminal ranges are specified 4, 8, and 16)
 : 607

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, . , 0
. (5) , outer . (14a), (14b) CL

16). , 2 (E, x), 2 (CT,

=t/Tc (0tTc) (11a) M) , .
=(TF-t)/(TF-Tc) (TctTF) (11b) E=M(CT-SWM2CD0-/(SWM2))
, Tc x=M (15)

. , . (13) ,
CT=CTmax (0tTc) (12a) .
CT=CTmin (TctTF) (12b)
(11) Fig. 3 , . , -test .
. =0 , (5) ,

, =1 .
. , Tc TF ()=-1/M2<0 (16)
. , ,

, Fig. 4 . , ,
XF=4, 8, 16 . , .
40, 80, 160km ,
. Fig. 4(a)(c) .

. Fig. 4 (a) (), Fig. 4 (b) 3

, Fig. 4 (c) . , Fig. 5 .

t/TF=0.75 . XF=16 , ,
, .
. Fig. 5 (a) , Fig. 5 (b) , Fig. 5 (c)
. . .
. CL=1/SWM2 (17)
Fig. 4 (d) M, ,CL , ,
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XF=8 .
(1) . , ,
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.
5.

, . , boost-arc coast-arc
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E=h+M2/2 (13) 1 , ,
Table 2 . B boost-arc, C
. coast-arc . Fig. 5 (d)
. , . ,
, (13) , . , B C
. .
E=M(CT-SWM2(CD0+C2L)) (14a) ,
=(SWM2CL-cos)/M (14b) .
h=Msin (14c)
x=Mcos (14d) .
 608 19925 28 5

-APPROX

--- EXACT

(a) Mach number (c) Lift coefficient

(b) Trajectory (d) Mach number vs height

Fig. 5 Approximate and chattering solutions
(terminal range is specified 16)

Table 2 Chattering solution of a reduced order model

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