Does inverting a quadratic thrust curve exactly fix the error a linear-thrust twin makes, and what if the thrust exponent is also wrong?
research/invthrust-twin
Exact square-root thrust inverse vs the linear one on a quadratic-thrust vehicle: up/down overshoot gap 3.00→0.09 points with the right model, but only 3.67→1.65 when the thrust exponent is misidentified (2.5 vs 2).
What it found
Follow-up to thrust-twin. With the right model, the exact square-root throttle inverse realises the commanded acceleration inside the throttle limits and shrinks the up/down overshoot gap at ζ=0.7, p=2 from 3.00 to 0.09 points. With the thrust exponent misidentified (2.5 instead of 2) the exact inverse flips the asymmetry and halves the gap (3.67 to 1.65 points) but overshoot stays at 0.071–0.088 against the twin’s 0.046, and settling time is unchanged. Stylised: 1-D, noiseless, static thrust map, assumed throttle limits, exponent error only.
A figure from its own output
Paper, code and results
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Produced with AI assistance (Claude). Results are from the code in this repository and are simulated or stylised unless the abstract says otherwise; nothing here implies affiliation with or endorsement by any lab, researcher or company cited. MIT licensed.