Rapid ascent-phase trajectory planning for near-optimal fuel consumption of RBCC vehicle

Xunliang YAN; Yuxuan YANG; Jiawei SHI; Peichen WANG

doi:10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31876

ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA >

2025 , Vol. 46 >Issue 18: 231876 - 231876

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31876

Solid Mechanics and Vehicle Conceptual Design

Rapid ascent-phase trajectory planning for near-optimal fuel consumption of RBCC vehicle

Xunliang YAN ,
Yuxuan YANG ,
Jiawei SHI ,
Peichen WANG

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^1.School of Astronautics，Northwestern Polytechnical University，Xi’an 710072，China
^2.Shaanxi Aerospace Flight Vehicle Design Key Laboratory，Northwestern Polytechnical University，Xi’an 710072，China
^3.Queen Mary University of London Engineering School，Northwestern Polytechnical University，Xi’an 710072，China

E-mail： yuxuanyang@mail.nwpu.edu.cn

Received date: 2025-02-17

Revised date: 2025-03-04

Accepted date: 2025-03-27

Online published: 2025-03-31

Supported by

Open Fund of Intelligent Control Laboratory(ICL-2023-0402)

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Abstract

To address the rapid trajectory planning problem for the ascent-phase of Rocket-Based Combined Cycle （RBCC） powered vehicles， this paper proposes a fuel-near-optimal trajectory planning method based on reduced-order model-derived fuel-optimal thrust approximation solutions and analytical altitude-velocity profile tracking. First， the ascent dynamics model is reduced through singular perturbation theory and energy-state approximation， deriving fuel-optimal mode switching equations and thrust approximation solutions. Subsequently， based on flight mechanism analysis， a three-segment analytical altitude-velocity profile is designed with constraint enforcement methods. Considering trajectory optimality， the fuel-optimal mode switching equations are employed as basis for segment parameter determination， developing a sequential iterative strategy for multi-segment profile parameter calculation to satisfy terminal altitude and velocity constraints. Finally， a bisection-based closed-loop correction algorithm is designed to meet terminal flight path angle constraints， thereby achieving rapid multi-constrained fuel-near-optimal ascent trajectory planning. Simulation studies on an RBCC vehicle validate the effectiveness， computational efficiency， and multi-mission adaptability of the method. Compared with conventional optimization methods， the proposed method maintains comparable fuel consumption while demonstrating superior computational efficiency.

Key words： RBCC vehicle; ascent-phase trajectory planning; near-optimal fuel consumption; modal switching equation; analytical design of standard profile

Cite this article

Xunliang YAN , Yuxuan YANG , Jiawei SHI , Peichen WANG . Rapid ascent-phase trajectory planning for near-optimal fuel consumption of RBCC vehicle[J]. ACTA AERONAUTICAET ASTRONAUTICA SINICA, 2025 , 46(18) : 231876 -231876 . DOI: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31876

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