Jafari, SoheilMiran Fashandi, Seyed AlirezaNikolaidis, Theoklis2018-12-192018-12-192018-12-19Soheil Jafari, Seyed Alireza Miran Fashandi and Theoklis Nikolaidi. Control requirements for future gas turbine-powered unmanned drones: JetQuads. Applied Sciences, 2018, Volume 8, Issue 12, Article number 26752076-3417https://doi.org/10.3390/app8122675https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/13760The next generation of aerial robots will be utilized extensively in real-world applications for different purposes: Delivery, entertainment, inspection, health and safety, photography, search and rescue operations, fire detection, and use in hazardous and unreachable environments. Thus, dynamic modeling and control of drones will play a vital role in the growth phase of this cutting-edge technology. This paper presents a systematic approach for control mode identification of JetQuads (gas turbine-powered quads) that should be satisfied simultaneously to achieve a safe and optimal operation of the JetQuad. Using bond graphs as a powerful mechatronic tool, a modular model of a JetQuad including the gas turbine, electric starter, and the main body was developed and validated against publicly available data. Two practical scenarios for thrust variation as a function of time were defined to investigate the compatibility and robustness of the JetQuad. The simulation results of these scenarios confirmed the necessity of designing a compatibility control loop, a stability control loop, and physical limitation control loops for the safe and errorless operation of the system. A control structure with its associated control algorithm is also proposed to deal with future challenges in JetQuad control problems.enAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/JetQuadbond graphfuture dronesgas turbine enginescontrol requirementscontrol modescontrol structure designArticle