Aerodynamic properties and aeroelastic responses of morphing wings can be improved via active shape control using piezoelectric actuators. In this article, a type of piezocomposite material called macro-fiber composite is used for actuation to achieve shape control of the morphing wing. This study focuses on the vibration suppression of the wing during dynamic morphing motion in open-loop architecture. The aeroelastic model is established using finite element method and Theodorsen unsteady aerodynamic loads. Because the arbitrary selection of any admissible control voltage profiles will cause vibrations of the wing structure and fluctuations in aerodynamic lift, a dynamic shape control approach is presented to optimize the voltage profiles for the actuators. A proof-of-concept simulation is presented for a scaled high-aspect-ratio wing. The results show that continuous, smooth morphing motion with gentle aeroelastic responses can be realized by applying the optimum voltage profiles. The dynamic shape control performance of the morphing wing can be improved compared with step and ramp voltage profiles.

Attitude dynamic model of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is multi‐input multioutput (MIMO), strong coupling, and nonlinear. Model uncertainties and external gust disturbances should be considered during designing the attitude control system for UAVs. In this paper, feedback linearization and model reference adaptive control (MRAC) are integrated to design the attitude control system for a fixed wing UAV. First of all, the complicated attitude dynamic model is decoupled into three single‐input single‐output (SISO) channels by input‐output feedback linearization. Secondly, the reference models are determined, respectively, according to the performance indexes of each channel. Subsequently, the adaptive control law is obtained using MRAC theory. In order to demonstrate the performance of attitude control system, the adaptive control law and the proportional‐integral‐derivative (PID) control law are, respectively, used in the coupling nonlinear simulation model. Simulation results indicate that the system performance indexes including maximum overshoot, settling time (2% error range), and rise time obtained by MRAC are better than those by PID. Moreover, MRAC system has stronger robustness with respect to the model uncertainties and gust disturbance.

Optimal configuration of anisotropic piezocomposite actuators is investigated for vibration control of flexible structures. Actuation effects of the actuators in unimorph and antisymmetric angle-ply bimorph configurations are analyzed. Dynamic equations of the piezo-actuated plate are established using finite element method. The locations and lead zirconate titanate fiber orientations of actuators are optimized simultaneously to improve vibration control performance of a plate. The optimization criterion is presented based on controllability Gramian matrix of the system. The properties of macro-fiber composite are used in the simulations of the actuators. The optimal unimorph and bimorph configurations of actuators are presented for three cases: bending control, twisting control, and coupled bending–twisting control. The results indicate that both optimal locations and fiber orientations are different for bending control and twisting control. A trade-off between control authority for bending and torsional modes can be found in coupled bending–twisting control. The actuators should be placed in the regions of high average strain of the interested modes with appropriate fiber orientations. Special piezocomposite actuators with optimal fiber orientations can be used to achieve improved coupled bending–twisting vibration control performance.

In order to realize the high accuracy attitude control of satellite with flexible appendages, attitude control system consisting of the controller and structural filter was designed. When the low order vibration frequency of flexible appendages is approximating the bandwidth of attitude control system, the vibration signal will enter the control system through measurement device to bring impact on the accuracy or even the stability. In order to reduce the impact of vibration of appendages on the attitude control system, the structural filter is designed in terms of rejecting the vibration of flexible appendages. Considering the potential problem of in‐orbit frequency variation of the flexible appendages, the design method for the adaptive notch filter is proposed based on the in‐orbit identification technology. Finally, the simulation results are given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed design techniques.

The mission performance of future advanced aerospace structures can be synthetically improved via active shape control utilizing piezoelectric materials. Multiple work modes are required. Bending/twisting mode control receives special attention for many classic aerospace structures, such as active reflector systems, active blades, and compliant morphing wings. Piezoelectric fiber composite (Piezocomposite) material features in-plane anisotropic actuation, which is very suitable for multiple work modes. In this study, two identical macro-fiber composite (MFC) actuators of the F1 type were bonded to the base plate structure in an “antisymmetric angle-ply bimorph configuration” in order to achieve independent bending/twisting shape control. In terms of the finite element model and homogenization strategy, the locations of bimorph MFCs were determined by considering the effect of trade-off control capabilities on the bending and twisting shapes. The modal characteristics were investigated via both experimental and theoretical approaches. The experimental tests implied that the shape control accuracy was heavily reduced due to various uncertainties and nonlinearities, including hysteresis and the creep effect of the actuators, model errors, and external disturbances. A multi-mode feedback control law was designed and the experimental tests indicated that synthetic (independent and coupled) bending/twisting deformations were achieved with improved shape accuracy. This study provides a feasible multi-mode shape control approach with high surface accuracy, especially by employing piezocomposite materials.