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Enhancing the Control of Tethered Turbofan Rescue Drones Based on Improved Active Disturbance Rejection Control

By: Jiayi Liu 1
1School of Science, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, 266520, China

Abstract

To address rescue challenges caused by material shortages, traffic disruptions, and complex terrain in disaster zones, this study proposes a tethered turbojet UAV rescue system based on an improved active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) method. The UAV employs a tethered power supply to sustain engine operation, enabling precise nozzle deflection and thrust control for enhanced endurance, stability, and payload capacity. A nonlinear dynamic model is established, and an enhanced ADRC is designed by optimising the extended state observer (ESO) with a klnfal function, with its convergence proven via Lyapunov stability theory. Simulations show that under strong disturbances, the improved ADRC reduces attitude control mean square error by 75.81% compared to PID and conventional ADRC, significantly improving robustness for precise material delivery.