Influence of anisotropic piezoelectric actuators on wing aerodynamic forces

Abstract

Changing the shape of an airfoil to enhance overall aircraft performance has always been a goal of aircraft designers. Using smart material to reshape the wing can improve aerodynamic performance. The influence of anisotropic effects of piezoelectric actuators on the aerodynamic characteristics of a simplified HALE wing model was investigated. Test verification was conducted.piezoelectric actuator, aerodynamic performance, anisotropicDuring the past decade, many researchers have also started to look at adaptive material actuator systems for performance-enhancing shape control. Smart material based actuation systems are attractive because of their characteristics of high-energy densities and because shaping accomplished by smart material can be smooth and without flow disturbing. Using piezoelectric (PZT) patches to reshape the wing can improve aerodynamic performance such as divergence [1] , flutter [2] and rolling maneuver [3,4] . Studies have shown that a network of sensors and actuators could be used to control the structure and improve the flight performance of air vehicles. NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the US have adopted the term of "morphing aircraft" to describe the application of adaptive structures, among other technologies, for this purpose.Some reports [5,6] about the roll control of aircraft by piezoelectric fiber composites were published recently. Based on the previous work using distributed isotropic piezoelectric actuators [7,8] to improve wing aerodynamic characteristics, the authors analyzed anisotropic effects by properly spacing thin piezoelectric strips and showed their influence on the wing aerodynamic characteristics.