Robust Dynamic Sliding Mode Control of a Rotating Thin-Walled Composite Blade

Abstract

This paper presents a robust control methodology for the dynamic response control of a rotating blade exposed to external excitations and modeling uncertainty. The blade is modeled as a tapered thin-walled beam with fiber-reinforced composite material. The dynamic response characteristics of a rotating composite beam are investigated; namely, ply angle, taper ratio, and various selected rotational speeds. To extend life and improve efficiency, a robust control methodology is implemented and structural tailoring composite properties are used. To this end, considering modeling uncertainties and external disturbance conditions, a sliding mode control is proposed and its performance and robustness are compared with the conventional linear quadratic Gaussian control. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000076. (C) 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.