Two-stage Kalman filter-based actuator/surface fault identification and reconfigurable control applied to F-16 fighter dynamics

In this study, an active fault-tolerant control technique with reconfiguration against actuator/surface failures is presented. A two-stage Kalman filter is designed in order to identify the control distribution matrix elements that correspond to the faulty actuator/surface; thus, the control reconfiguration is carried out using this identified control distribution matrix. The actuator/surface fault identification problem is solved through two jointly operating Kalman filters: the first one is for the estimation of the control distribution matrix elements that correspond to the faulty actuator/surface, and the second one is for the estimation of the state variables of the aircraft model.A structure for the active fault-tolerant aircraft flight control system with reconfiguration against actuator/surface failures is presented. A control reconfiguration action is taken in order to keep the performance of the impaired aircraft the same as that of the unimpaired aircraft.In simulations, the nonlinear flight dynamics of an AFTI/F-16 fighter model is considered, and the performance of the proposed actuator/surface failure identification and reconfigurable control schemes are examined for this model.