A robust nonlinear MPC and incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion control of quadrotors under rotor failure

Date

2026-1

Author

Elif, Cihangir Mehmetçik

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Quadrotors are increasingly adopted for inspection, delivery, and industrial operations, yet their underactuated structure makes them highly vulnerable to actuator faults. Failures can range from partial loss of rotor effectiveness to complete rotor loss, often leading to rapid performance degradation or crashes. Conventional solutions are typically based on linear approximations or limited fault-tolerant strategies, restricting their effectiveness under severe faults and external disturbances. This thesis presents a robust fault-tolerant control framework that combines Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion to ensure safe and reliable quadrotor operation under complete rotor failures. The proposed approach explicitly considers rotor thrust constraints, incorporates aerodynamic disturbances and modeling mismatches, enabling stable flight and controlled maneuvering even in adverse wind conditions. Beyond single-rotor loss, the framework addresses the simultaneous complete failure of two opposite rotors, maintaining limited control authority while still allowing safe navigation and landing. A detailed six-degree-of-freedom nonlinear model, including actuator dynamics and wind quadrotor interaction effects, is employed to represent the vehicle and its environment. Extensive simulations and Monte Carlo campaigns confirm that the method delivers consistent trajectory tracking and robust stabilization across a wide range of operating conditions, including high angular rates, wind disturbances, sensor noise, increased fail detection time, and modeling uncertainties. Comparative analyses between pure NMPC and the hybrid NMPC+INDI structure further quantify the achievable performance and recovery envelopes in both nominal and degraded flight regimes, demonstrating the suitability of the proposed framework as a practical solution for safety-critical quadrotor applications.

Subject Keywords

Fault-Tolerant Control, Nonlinear Model Predictive Control, Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion, Disturbance Rejection, Uncertainty Compensation

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118461

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis