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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harp, D. Isaiah, Ott, Joshua, Asmar, Dylan M., Alora, John, Kochenderfer, Mykel J.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.01000
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author Harp, D. Isaiah
Ott, Joshua
Asmar, Dylan M.
Alora, John
Kochenderfer, Mykel J.
author_facet Harp, D. Isaiah
Ott, Joshua
Asmar, Dylan M.
Alora, John
Kochenderfer, Mykel J.
contents Flight test analysis often requires predefined test points with arbitrarily tight tolerances, leading to extensive and resource-intensive experimental campaigns. To address this challenge, we propose a novel approach to flight test analysis using Gaussian processes (GPs) with physics-informed mean functions to estimate aerodynamic quantities from arbitrary flight test data, validated using real T-38 aircraft data collected in collaboration with the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. We demonstrate our method by estimating the pitching moment coefficient without requiring predefined or repeated flight test points, significantly reducing the need for extensive experimental campaigns. Our approach incorporates aerodynamic models as priors within the GP framework, enhancing predictive accuracy across diverse flight conditions and providing robust uncertainty quantification. Key contributions include the integration of physics-based priors in a probabilistic model, which allows for precise computation from arbitrary flight test maneuvers, and the demonstration of our method capturing relevant dynamic characteristics such as short-period mode behavior. The proposed framework offers a scalable and generalizable solution for efficient data-driven flight test analysis and is able to accurately predict the short period frequency and damping for the T-38 across several Mach and dynamic pressure profiles.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_01000
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Physics-informed Gaussian Processes for Safe Envelope Expansion
Harp, D. Isaiah
Ott, Joshua
Asmar, Dylan M.
Alora, John
Kochenderfer, Mykel J.
Machine Learning
Flight test analysis often requires predefined test points with arbitrarily tight tolerances, leading to extensive and resource-intensive experimental campaigns. To address this challenge, we propose a novel approach to flight test analysis using Gaussian processes (GPs) with physics-informed mean functions to estimate aerodynamic quantities from arbitrary flight test data, validated using real T-38 aircraft data collected in collaboration with the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. We demonstrate our method by estimating the pitching moment coefficient without requiring predefined or repeated flight test points, significantly reducing the need for extensive experimental campaigns. Our approach incorporates aerodynamic models as priors within the GP framework, enhancing predictive accuracy across diverse flight conditions and providing robust uncertainty quantification. Key contributions include the integration of physics-based priors in a probabilistic model, which allows for precise computation from arbitrary flight test maneuvers, and the demonstration of our method capturing relevant dynamic characteristics such as short-period mode behavior. The proposed framework offers a scalable and generalizable solution for efficient data-driven flight test analysis and is able to accurately predict the short period frequency and damping for the T-38 across several Mach and dynamic pressure profiles.
title Physics-informed Gaussian Processes for Safe Envelope Expansion
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.01000