Adaptive functional link network control of near-space vehicles with dynamical uncertainties

The control law design for a near-space hypersonic vehicle (NHV) is highly challenging due to its inherent nonlinearity, plant uncertainties and sensitivity to disturbances. This paper presents a novel functional link network (FLN) control method for an NHV with dynamical thrust and parameter uncertainties. The approach devises a new partially-feedback-functional-link-network (PFFLN) adaptive law and combines it with the nonlinear generalized predictive control (NGPC) algorithm. The PFFLN is employed for approximating uncertainties in flight. Its weights are online tuned based on Lyapunov stability theorem for the first time. The learning process does not need any offline training phase. Additionally, a robust controller with an adaptive gain is designed to offset the approximation error. Finally, simulation results show a satisfactory performance for the NHV attitude tracking, and also illustrate the controller's robustness.