Trajectory Tracking Strategy for Gliding Hypersonic Vehicle with Aileron Stuck at an Unknown Angle

A nonlinear robust trajectory tracking strategy for a gliding hypersonic vehicle with an aileron stuck at an unknown position is presented in this paper. First, the components of translational motion dynamics perpendicular to the velocity are derived, and then a guidance law based on a time-varying sliding mode method is used to realize trajectory tracking. Furthermore, the rotational equations of motion are separated into an actuated subsystem and an unactuated subsystem. And an adaptive time-varying sliding mode attitude controller is proposed based on the actuated subsystem to track the command attitude and the tracking performance and robustness are therefore enhanced. The proposed guidance law and attitude controller make the hypersonic vehicle fly along the reference trajectory even when the aileron is stuck at an unknown angle. Finally, a hypersonic benchmark platform is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.