Design and experimental characterisation of a morphing wing with enhanced corrugated skin

Previtali, Francesco; Molinari, Giulio; Arrieta, Andres F.; Michel, Guillaume; Ermanni, Paolo

doi:10.1177/1045389x15595296

Cited by 39 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In equation (27), is the corrugation ratio, T is the temperature, and the coefficients are =-1.277, =8.882e-7, =3.237, =-3.966e-5, =-3.115 and =1.32. The preliminary evaluation of the smart composite corrugated skin structure is performed on a model representing the upper skin of a variable camber wing concept, which consists of a corrugated morphing skin, leading and trailing edges, and compliant ribs (Figure 16a).…”

Section: Figure 12 Weight Ratios Vs the Corrugation Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable stiffness corrugated composite structure with shape memory polymer for morphing skin applications

Gong¹,

Liu²,

Scarpa³

et al. 2017

Smart Mater. Struct.

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This work presents a variable stiffness corrugated structure based on a Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) composite with corrugated laminates as reinforcement that shows smooth aerodynamic surface, extreme mechanical anisotropy and variable stiffness for potential morphing skin applications. The smart composite corrugated structure shows a low in-plane stiffness to minimize the actuation energy, but also possess high out-of-plane stiffness to transfer the aerodynamic pressure load. The skin provides an external smooth aerodynamic surface because of the one-sided filling with the SMP. Due to variable stiffness of the shape memory polymer the morphing skin exhibits a variable stiffness with a change of temperature, which can help the skin adjust its stiffness according different service environments and also lock the temporary shape without external force. Analytical models related to the transverse and bending stiffness are derived and validated using Finite Element techniques. The stiffness of the morphing skin is further investigated by performing a parametric analysis against the geometry of the corrugation and various sets of SMP fillers. The theoretical and numerical models show a good agreement and demonstrate the potential of this morphing skin concept for morphing aircraft applications. We also perform a feasibility study of the use of this morphing skin in a variable camber morphing wing baseline. The results show that the morphing skin concept exhibits sufficient bending stiffness to withstand the aerodynamic load at low speed (less than 0.3 Ma), while demonstrating a large transverse stiffness variation (up to 191 times) that helps to create a maximum mechanical efficiency of the structure under varying external conditions.

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Section: Figure 12 Weight Ratios Vs the Corrugation Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Variable stiffness corrugated composite structure with shape memory polymer for morphing skin applications

Gong¹,

Liu²,

Scarpa³

et al. 2017

Smart Mater. Struct.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In this section, a design optimization approach is developed using an analytical sandwich beam model of the morphing trailing edge, an aerodynamic routine Xfoil (Ai et al, 2015;Daynes and Weaver 2012b;Previtali et al, 2016) and a GA in the commercial software package Matlab (MATLAB R2013a, The MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA, USA). The aim of the proposed optimization approach is that for a selected morphing profile, it provides the required structural design parameters, e.g.…”

Section: Design Optimization Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and mechanical testing of a variable stiffness morphing trailing edge flap

Azarpeyvand²

2017

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

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Morphing structures that are both light-weight and conformal to the aerofoil are currently being considered as promising candidates for the next generation of aircraft high-lift systems. Utilizing spatially variable stiffness materials in morphing structures leads to a possible reduction in the actuation energy requirement and also enables geometric control over the deformed shape of the morphing structure, resulting in enhanced aerodynamic and aeroacoustic performance. In this study, a design optimization methodology has been developed to identify the required material stiffness variations of a morphing structure for target optimal deformed shapes. In the optimization scheme, a layer-wise sandwich beam model is used to predict the structural behaviour of the flap with a specific material stiffness variation. Two-dimensional fluid/structure static aeroelastic interaction analysis is performed in the design optimization. Finite element analysis and mechanical tests were also carried out for a chosen optimization result to study the actuation requirements and the capability of control over the deformed shape of the morphing trailing edge. Numerical and experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed optimization methodology for identifying the required stiffness variation in the core and also ways of using rapid prototyped honeycomb core to realize the honeycomb core stiffness variations are discussed.

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“…Such structures could allow designing a wing that would be optimal at various flight conditions. Full morphing wings are being tested in wind tunnels with promising results, but are still far from full implementation [2,3]. A much easier approach is using only small wing sections for morphing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of performance gains on a sailplane with morphing wing trailing edge

Lendraitis

2019

mech

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Increasing the performance of a modern sailplane is challenging. Most of the known valid approaches have already been applied in practice. Morphing technology, which could allow to adapt to various flight stages is yet to be applied. An investigation of possible flight performance benefits of such technology is carried out here. Using a genetic algorithm, a morphing trailing edge flap for airfoil HQ-17 is formed for -4° and +12° flap deflections. The performance is evaluated and compared with a regular flap, which shows that for the HQ-17 airfoil, drag could be reduced by up to 36% in comparison with regular flap. To show the advantage of morphing flaps, a hypothetical sailplane wing is modeled and evaluated with morphing and conventional flaps using non-linear LLT method. Results show that incorporation of a morphing flap could extend the flight envelope and increase the L/D ratio by 2-5% trough the full flight speed range.

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Design and experimental characterisation of a morphing wing with enhanced corrugated skin

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

Variable stiffness corrugated composite structure with shape memory polymer for morphing skin applications

Variable stiffness corrugated composite structure with shape memory polymer for morphing skin applications

Design and mechanical testing of a variable stiffness morphing trailing edge flap

Investigation of performance gains on a sailplane with morphing wing trailing edge

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