Journal of System Simulation ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (8): 2250-2264.doi: 10.16182/j.issn1004731x.joss.25-0947

• Papers • Previous Articles    

Fault-tolerant Control Method for All-type Actuator Faults of eVTOL Aircraft

Wang Juan1,2, Li Guorui2, Fan Zhiyong1,2, Chen Huijie2   

  1. 1.Engineering Techniques Training Center, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin 300300, China
    2.College of Electronic Information and Automation, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin 300300, China
  • Received:2025-09-29 Revised:2025-10-26 Online:2026-08-28 Published:2026-08-31
  • Contact: Li Guorui

Abstract:

To address all-type actuator faults, especially nonlinear distortion issues, in multi-rotor eVTOL aircraft, a novel fault-tolerant control method was proposed. A fault function was established at the rotor speed level, and a fault-tolerant control algorithm combining dynamic robust nonsingular fast integral terminal sliding mode with a high-order finite-time disturbance observer was designed to achieve fault-tolerant control through rotor redundancy allocation. The nonsingular fast integral terminal sliding mode algorithm was improved, and a dynamic system containing actuator faults and their derivatives was constructed via a dynamic surface to achieve system convergence within finite time, avoiding the singularity and chattering problems of the controller; the high-order finite-time disturbance observer observed and compensated for uncertainties and their higher-order derivatives. Simulation results indicate that this fault-tolerant control method solves the problem of actuator's nonlinear mapping distortion, handles severe faults in single-rotor, multi-rotor, and even same-side multi-rotor actuators, and achieves high-precision trajectory tracking performance even under combined faults of sensors, actuators, and external disturbances.

Key words: multi-rotor eVTOL, actuator fault, nonlinear distortion, fault-tolerant control, integral terminal sliding mode, disturbance observer

CLC Number: