Nonlinear Dynamics of a Vectored Thrust Aircraft

Thrust vectoring allows an aircraft to venture into regions of operation that cannot be reached with conventional controls. Using data for the aerodynamic coefficients obtained by NASA, we have performed a detailed simulation study of the longitudinal dynamics of the F/A-18 fighter in the poststall regime. Under variation of the thrust and the thrust vectoring angle, the equilibrium state exhibits three Hopf bifurcations and two saddle-node bifurcations. The purpose of the project is to examine the additional bifurcations that arise under sinusoidal forcing of the thrust vectoring angle.