The paper is an investigation on computational modelling and control system design
of integrally actuated membrane wings. A high-fidelity electro-aeromechanical model is
used for the simulation of the dynamic fluid-structure interaction between a low-Reynoldsnumber
flow and a dielectric elastomer wing. A reduced-order model (ROM) is obtained
coupling a modal structural description with a linearisation of the fluid equations based on
the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). The low-order system is then used for the
design of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG)
feedback schemes for the control of the wing lift coefficient. Their implementation in the
high-fidelity model shows very good agreement with the reduced-order model, demonstrating
the suitability of the approach for the initial design of control systems on integrally
actuated membranes. Finally, the designed controllers are used to track required aerodynamic
performance and compensate for prescribed disturbances of the inlet flow conditions.
Numerical results demonstrates the potential for the aerodynamic control of membrane
wings in outdoor flight using dielectric elastomers.