Inflatable and Rigidizable Wing Components for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

HCI meets Material Science

“…Silicone has also been widely used in medicine [123] and in soft robotics for artificial muscles [115,140]. Ultimately, the strength and stiffness of the inflatable structure is controlled by the internal pressure and the elastic modulus of the restraint material [26].…”

Initial performance assessment of hybrid inflatable structures

“…These materials ranged from coated or impregnated Ripstop Nylon and Ripstop Polyester. Although both Nylon and Polyester are fibers that have been used previously in aerospace inflatable applications [3,7], these 'off the shelf' fabrics are not space grade materials. However, the aim of this work is to initially determine the relative stiffness increase of incorporating tape springs into an inflatable boom at a specified pressure.…”

Piezoelectric Microfiber Composite Actuators for Morphing Wings

“…e root of the wing was attached to an aluminum mounting plate �tted with a gas inlet. More details about the wing can be obtained from [15,16].…”

“…In this investigation, we focus on an extreme example of morphing wing technology, in�atable wings, in particular, one developed by ILC Dover. In�atable wings provide unique capabilities, for example, the ability to fold the de�ated wings into a cylinder for quick deployment via conventional artillery or aerial drop assemblies [15,16]. Upon reaching the target area, the wings are deployed and the aircra can loiter for long periods.…”