Integrated Inner-Outer Loop Control Architecture Design for High-Speed Vehicles

To achieve high-precision control of high-speed vehicles during the cruise phase, this paper proposes an integrated controller structure consisting of an outer loop and an inner loop. The outer loop, responsible for altitude and velocity regulation, is implemented using a linear feedback controller designed via pole placement. The inner loop, which regulates attack angle and pitch rate, employs an adaptive sliding mode control combined with a linear extended state observer. In this configuration, the extended state observer provides real-time estimation and compensation of model uncertainties and external disturbances. This allows the sliding mode controller to achieve fast and robust control without relying on excessively high switching gains, thereby mitigating high-frequency chattering. First, a longitudinal dynamic model of the high-speed vehicle is established and linearized via small-disturbance theory. Then, the design methods of the pole placement feedback controller and the adaptive sliding mode controller based on extended state observer are presented separately. Finally, numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed integrated approach achieves faster dynamic response and smaller steady-state errors compared to conventional sliding mode controller.