Adaptive Sliding Mode Control for Aircraft Engines

Aircraft engine control has been evolving since its beginning. With advancements in technology more and more control methods are being applied to this area. This thesis presents the design of an adaptive PID sliding mode control (A-SMC) for a turbofan engine. The controller design methodology is presented. Using an aircraft engine simulation environment developed by NASA, called Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation, the developed controller is tested. The results from three simulations are analyzed to investigate the application of this new design scheme. The A-SMC is able to follow the demanded fan speed for short flight simulations. However, some of the adaptive gains continue to increase when operating away from the limits. It is shown that using an A-SMC is a feasible methodology for controlling an aircraft engine, although further studies are necessary to investigate the adaptive PID control and the technique chosen to eliminate the chattering phenomenon of sliding mode control