Control Surface Modeling and Control Authority Analysis for Longitudinal Motion of Control-Configured Vehicle

Current ground-based explosive ordnance clearance methods are inefficient in terms of time and cost, increasing the need for wide-area detection systems using unmanned aerial vehicles. Detecting buried explosives with UAV-mounted sensors constrains UAV maneuvers according to sensor characteristics. To perform the mission under these constraints, additional control surfaces and a flight-control system that accounts for them are required to improve control authority. This study considers additional control effectors to improve the longitudinal flight performance of the existing ARGOS-1 vehicle and compares them with the baseline configuration. Specifically, it considers using the forward propulsors, which are inactive in fixed-wing mode, installing canards at the front of the vehicle, and installing an elevator at the rear; trim analysis is used to evaluate the resulting changes in control authority.