Design and Development of a Seamless Smart Morphing Wing Using Distributed Trailing Edge Camber Morphing for Active Control

Abstract

In this study, the design and development of an autonomous morphing wing concept were investigated. The morphing wing was developed in the scope of the Smart-X project, aiming to demonstrate in-flight performance optimisation. This study proposed a novel distributed morphing concept, with six Translation Induced Camber (TRIC) morphing trailing edge modules, interconnected with triangular skin segments joined by an elastomer material to allow seamless variation of local lift distribution along the wingspan. A FSI structural analysis tool was developed, to achieve a feasible design, capable of reaching target shapes and minimising the actuation loads with fibreglass weave material. A conventional actuator and kinematic mechanism were selected such that both static and dynamic requirements in terms of bandwidth, actuation force and stroke were fulfilled. The integration of smart sensing technologies and active morphing design developed for the Smart-X wing is facilitated in static and dynamic wind-tunnel tests at the Open Jet Facility (OJF) at the Delft University of technology, with multi-objective control of the active morphing system.

Aeroelastic Wing Demonstrator with a Distributed and Decentralized Control Architecture

“…The aerodynamics analysis performed for the SmartX-Neo yielded three times faster continuous actuation and six times lower loads on the control surface (10 Nm versus 60-80 Nm) for SmartX-Neo compared to SmartX-Alpha [4]. The actuator continuous actuator bandwidth of the selected servo is presented in Fig.…”

“…The right one shows the characteristics of the servo selected for the SmartX-Alpha demonstrated. Here, the actuator torque requirement was evaluated for various morphing conditions of the flaps [4]. As opposed to a simple flap design of the SmartX-Neo (Fig.…”

“…While active morphing benefits aerodynamic efficiency, the morphing mechanism required for smooth shape control generally needs larger actuation forces and a more complex design. In our previous study, we have demonstrated a seamless morphing wing concept [4,5], the SmartX-Alpha, capable of performing objectives such as shape control, drag minimization, and simultaneous gust and maneuver load alleviation [6]. This design showed a significant advantage over previous morphing concepts, allowing the lift distribution to be controlled locally by individually adjusting the camber and twist of each morphing module.…”

Black-Box Online Aerodynamic Performance Optimization for a Seamless Wing with Distributed Morphing

“…The resulting lift and drag coefficients 𝐶 L , 𝐶 D are then used to improve the on-board model for the next iteration. This online shape optimization strategy is evaluated on a simulation model of an over-actuated seamless active distributed morphing wing named SmartX-Alpha [15]. An overview of SmartX-Alpha is shown in Fig.…”

“…First, the local vertical displacement of the trailing edge 𝑧 te is computed with Eq. ( 2), which was derived from digital image correlation measurements of symmetric morphing on SmartX-Alpha [15].…”