This applications-oriented course provides a comprehensive
overview of missile autopilots. The course begins with an overview of the missile equations
of motion and aerodynamic model followed by a review of linear system theory including
frequency response and Bode plots, root locus, and stability criteria, and
compensator design. This introductory material is followed by detailed discussion
of modern missile autopilot design topics including hardware and hardware modeling,
autopilot design requirements, and autopilot design examples. The remainder of
the course focuses on 'real world' issues such as nonlinearities, gain scheduling,
discretization, pitch-yaw-roll autopilot design, and other advanced concepts.
Examples are included throughout the course.
View course sampler
Instructor:
Paul Jackson is the supervisor of the
Engineering and Development Section of the
Guidance, Navigation, and Control Group at the Applied
Physics Laboratory (APL) and is the APL Lead for
Standard Missile-6 Guidance Section Integrated Product Team. Since
joining the staff of APL in 1988, he has worked as
an analyst on missile guidance and control
systems, particularly for the US Navy Tomahawk
and Standard missiles. His early contributions
came as a member of the APL team that was
among the first to demonstrate the application of
modern robust control techniques such as H-Infinity
Control and Mu-Synthesis to the missile
autopilot design problem. Subsequent experience
includes the design, analysis, and
simulation of missile autopilot and
guidance algorithms and hardware.
Mr. Jackson has presented papers at
AIAA and the IEEE conferences and
is a former member of the AIAA
Guidance, Navigation and Control
Technical Committee.
The underlying physics governing missile dynamics.
Theory and applications for autopilot design and optimization.
Autopilot requirements and design trade-offs between performance and robustness.
Choosing autopilot implementation approaches.
Applications to real-world missile systems.
Fundamentals for autopilot design and analysis with emphasis on linear systems.
Missile dynamics including aerodynamic modeling.
Feedback, feedback design criteria, types of feedback, compensator design.
Autopilot hardware modeling including actuators, gyros, and accelerometers.
Pitch Autopilot Design.
Pitch-Yaw-Roll Autopilot Design.
Advanced Design and Analysis Techniques.
Course Outline:
Overview of Missile Autopilots — Definitions, Types of Autopilots, Example Applications.
Equations of Motion — Coordinate Systems, Transformations, Euler Angles, Force Equations, Moment Equations, Aerodynamic Variables, Linearization, Aerodynamics.
Linear Systems — State Variables, Block Diagrams, Laplace Transforms, Transfer Functions, Impulse Response, Step Response, Stability, Second Order Systems, Frequency Response, Root Locus, Nyquist Stability Theory.
Feedback Control — Need for Feedback, Design Criteria, Types of Feedback, Compensator Design via Root Locus, Compensator Design via Frequency Response.
Autopilot Hardware — Actuators, Principles of the Gyro, Gyro Modeling, Principles of Accelerometers, Accelerometer Modeling.
Pitch Autopilot Design — Time Domain Requirements, Frequency Domain Requirements, Acceleration Feedback, Acceleration and Rate Feedback, Pitch Over Autopilot, Three-Loop Autopilot.
Implementation Issues — Body Modes, Actuator Saturation, Integrator Windup, Gain Scheduling, Discretization.
Advanced Concepts — Multivariable Stability Analysis, LQR Optimal Control, Modern Robust Control Design Techniques.
Tuition:
Tuition for this four-day course is $1890 per person at one of our scheduled public courses. Onsite pricing is available. Please call us at 410-956-8805 or send an email to ati@aticourses.com.
