Modeling and optimal flight control of a foiling dinghy

This Master Thesis illustrates the physics behind the mathematical model of a foiling dinghy to be used in a model-based autopilot architecture, and the multiple frames of references needed for an exhaustive force description. Using the modeled foiling boat, we performed the non-trivial task of finding meaningful trim setpoints, which were then used throughout the simulations. We applied Optimal Control theories to achieve stability and control of a foiling dinghy with a movable crew at different trim settings and various environmental parameters, such as wind speed and sea state, both stationary and time-varying. We developed a prototype of a gain scheduler for the closed-loop to perform tack and jibes maneuvers in multiple environments, and compared the stability and parameters sensitivity of different closed feedback loop architectures, both in a straight line and maneuvering performance. The maneuvering performances were established with extensive ad-hoc simulations to properly characterize the behavior of the architecture, while the straight-line response and parameter variation sensitivity was determined through Monte Carlo simulations. At the end of this paperwork, the two best performing closed-loop architectures proposed were compared to determine which one would be the more promising for a practical application.