Construction, Modelling and control of an experimental helicopter (TRMS)

In this paper, a two-input two-output experimental TRMS model ‎helicopter is designed and built to investigate and test different identification and control algorithms. First, the steps required (software and hardware) to design, build, and operate this two-degree-of-freedom system are stated. Then, laboratory system is identified and modeled using physical laws governing the system and their analysis, as well as with the determination method and some classical identification methods to determine the parameters, and a highly nonlinear dynamic with interaction effect for the system is achieved. In addition, the two-input two-output system is transformed into two decoupled single-input single-output subsystems and each PID controller is individually designed for a subsystem. Also, considering the interaction effect for the two-input two-output system, a PID controller is designed and implemented using Sequential loop closing (SLC) method. For validation, the practical results of the implementation are compared with the simulation results in Matlab software. The results show the validity of the extracted model as well as the effective performance of the controller.