• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.378-390
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• 2016

A concept of the perch landing assisted by thruster (PLAT) for a fixed wind aircraft is proposed in this paper. The proposed concept is applicable to relatively large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), hence can overcome the limitation of existing perch landing technologies. A planar rigid body motion of an aircraft with aerodynamic and thruster forces and moments is modeled. An optimal control problem to minimize the fuel consumption by determining the histories of thruster and elevator deflection angle with specified terminal landing condition is formulated and solved. A parametric study for various initial conditions and thruster parameters is conducted to demonstrate the practicability of the proposed concept.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.494-500
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• 2020

Maneuvering vessels in the harbor is an interesting problem in marine cybernetics. The vessel, operated by the pilot and moving very slowly in shallow water, usually is assisted by thrusters, the main propulsion system, and tugboats. In this paper, we suggest a new vessel berthing technique using dampers (cylinder-type fenders) and a system of winches for complex and dangerous berthing situations. We found that control of the fender stroke and rope tension enabled a safe and quick berthing process. The effectiveness and usefulness of this berthing system was verified using a ship of about 2,000 tons.