Appointed-Time Fault-Tolerant Control for Flexible Hypersonic Vehicles with Unmeasurable States Independent of Initial Errors

This article aims to derive a practical tracking control algorithm for flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicles (FAHVs) with lumped disturbances, unmeasurable states and actuator failures. Based on the framework of the backstepping technique, an appointed-time fault-tolerant protocol independent of initial errors is proposed. Firstly, a new type of a state observer is constructed to reconstruct the unmeasurable states. Then, an error transformation function is designed to achieve prescribed performance control that does not depend on the initial tracking error. To deal with the actuator failures, practical fixed-time neural network observers are established to provide the estimation of the lumped disturbances. Finally, the proposed control strategy can ensure the practical fixed-time convergence of the closed-loop system, thereby greatly enhancing the transient performance. The proposed method addresses the challenges of ensuring real-time measurement accuracy for angle of attack and flight path angle in hypersonic vehicles, coupled with potential sudden actuator failures, effectively overcoming the drawback of prescribed performance control that requires knowledge of initial tracking errors. Some simulation results are provided to demonstrate the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.