Development and Implementation of an Autonomous Control System for a Micro-Turbogenerator Installed on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The manuscript should be revised to include a comprehensive, bullet-pointed breakdown of the fuzzy control process, detailing each step—Fuzzification (converting precise inputs into fuzzy sets using defined membership functions), Rule Base Formation (establishing explicit if-then rules based on expert knowledge), Fuzzy Inference (applying algorithms such as Mamdani or Sugeno for logical reasoning), and Defuzzification (translating fuzzy outputs into precise control signals using methods like the centroid technique)—to enhance clarity and reproducibility.
2. Suggest adding text descriptions and labelling to image 2 for a better presentation.
3. It is recommended that key data from Chapter 3 be presented in a tabular format.
4. There is also room for improvement in the images, for example, in figures 9 and 10, where there are blank spaces on the right side that could be deleted.
5. Figure 17 is not recommended for the discussion section and can be moved forward as appropriate.
6. Reference format has several errors.

Author Response

Please see the attachment. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper titled “Development and Implementation of an Autonomous Control System for a Micro-Turbogenerator Equipped on a UAV” presents a fuzzy logic-based control system for managing power distribution in a micro-turbogenerator-equipped UAV.

The study is experimentally validated using a test bench and demonstrates improvements in voltage stabilization. However, this paper does not introduce strong contributions to fuzzy logic algorithms but rather applies standard fuzzy control principles with adjusted membership functions. Clearly explaining what is the contribution in this fuzzy logic approach is needed. A comparative discussion with existing UAV control studies is needed to justify its novelty.

The authors do not compare fuzzy logic with alternative control methods to evaluate the performance of the proposed fuzzy controller. At least one alternative approach may need and use standard metrics (e.g., voltage stability, response time, error minimization).

Battery integration for improved energy stability is suggested as future work, but it seems to be an important missing component of this study. If battery integration is essential for system stability, why does the current system complete without it?

Other issues: The manuscript frequently refers to plots and diagrams using vague phrases like “the following figure” or “the graphs below” without explicitly mentioning the figure number. Please ensure that all figures are referenced correctly in the text using “Figure X”. And also, verify that figure numbers match their order of appearance in the text (e.g. should be Figure 8 in line 340).

Author Response

Please see the attachment. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors

I have read your paper proposal with great interest. Generally, I like the idea, but I believe it might be useful in much larger drones. I would like to get more information about micro turbine. I know the focus of the article is on electrical part, but some data related to micro turbine would be useful. I am pointing to rpm (max and range during the tests), max power and compression ratio. I have one issue with the term “throttle” Originally it comes from gasoline engines and is a kind of damping valve in the air supply. I presume you do not control your gas turbine via throttle (I presume it is fuel quantity). Maybe some other term like power should be used. I am not sure if turbojet is the right term. Maybe it is better to use a term like a turbo-prop or micro gas turbine.

The sentence below is ambiguous

Furthermore, in order to mitigate voltage fluctuations within the system, and thus 158 increasing the instability, while simultaneously serving as a safety component, a voltage 159 stabilizing component is considered crucial for the testing platform.

Figure 4 »turbjeto«?

I suggest increasing the font size in graphs

All together I like the approach and the engineering mentality in the paper proposal. I understand that you used what you had and improvised a lot. I believe that it might have practical usage but for larger and heavier drones and maybe you should make some explanation about the limitations in the introduction.

 

Best regards

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Maybe some other term like power should be used. I am not sure if turbojet is the right term. Maybe it is better to use a term like a turbo-prop or micro gas turbine.

The sentence below is ambiguous

Furthermore, in order to mitigate voltage fluctuations within the system, and thus 158 increasing the instability, while simultaneously serving as a safety component, a voltage 159 stabilizing component is considered crucial for the testing platform.

Figure 4 »turbjeto«?

Author Response

Please see the attachment. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The reviewers' comments and suggestions have been revised, and the paper is ready for publication.

Author Response

We are thankful for all your support and constructive feedback provided throughout the review process. 

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors

I am satisfied with your response. I believe the quality of your paper is much better now. Good solution to the "throttle" issue.

Best regards

 

 

Author Response

We are thankful for all your support and constructive feedback provided throughout the review process.