Status and Perspectives of Commercial Aircraft Morphing

Giuliani, Michelangelo; Dimino, Ignazio; Ameduri, Salvatore; Pecora, Rosario; Concilio, Antonio

doi:10.3390/biomimetics7010011

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The flight of birds has inspired research and experiments in aerodynamics since the first human attempt at air transportation, successfully achieved by the pioneers of the first practical airplane, the Wright brothers [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Approaches to aerodynamic imitation of bird flight vary from thrust generation by airfoil oscillations [ 3 ] to state-of-the-art shape morphing methods [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A UDF-Based Approach for the Dynamic Stall Evaluation of Airfoils for Micro-Air Vehicles

Sterpu,

Măriuța,

Grigorie

2024

Biomimetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A numerical method for generating dynamic stall using ANSYS Fluent and a user-defined function (UDF), with the complete script shared for reference, is introduced and tested. The study draws inspiration from bird flight, exploring dynamic stall as a method for achieving enhanced aerodynamic performance. The numerical method was tested on NACA 0012 airfoils with corresponding chord lengths of c1=40 mm, c2=150 mm, and c3=300 mm at Reynolds numbers ranging from Re1=2.8×104 up to Re5=1.04×106. Airfoil oscillations were settled for all cases at ω=0.55 Hz. Detached eddy simulation (DES) is employed as the turbulence model for the simulations presented, ensuring the accurate representation of the flow characteristics and dynamic stall phenomena. The study provides a detailed methodology, encouraging further exploration by researchers, especially young academics and students.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A UDF-Based Approach for the Dynamic Stall Evaluation of Airfoils for Micro-Air Vehicles

Sterpu,

Măriuța,

Grigorie

2024

Biomimetics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One such solution is the morphing wing technology, a promising state-of-the-art innovation [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Several research programs have achieved significant results in the field of aircraft morphing [ 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow Control around the UAS-S45 Pitching Airfoil Using a Dynamically Morphing Leading Edge (DMLE): A Numerical Study

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper investigates the effect of the Dynamically Morphing Leading Edge (DMLE) on the flow structure and the behavior of dynamic stall vortices around a pitching UAS-S45 airfoil with the objective of controlling the dynamic stall. An unsteady parametrization framework was developed to model the time-varying motion of the leading edge. This scheme was then integrated within the Ansys-Fluent numerical solver by developing a User-Defined-Function (UDF), with the aim to dynamically deflect the airfoil boundaries, and to control the dynamic mesh used to morph and to further adapt it. The dynamic and sliding mesh techniques were used to simulate the unsteady flow around the sinusoidally pitching UAS-S45 airfoil. While the γ − Reθ turbulence model adequately captured the flow structures of dynamic airfoils associated with leading-edge vortex formations for a wide range of Reynolds numbers, two broader studies are here considered. Firstly, (i) an oscillating airfoil with the DMLE is investigated; the pitching-oscillation motion of an airfoil and its parameters are defined, such as the droop nose amplitude (AD) and the pitch angle at which the leading-edge morphing starts (MST). The effects of the AD and the MST on the aerodynamic performance was studied, and three different amplitude cases are considered. Secondly, (ii) the DMLE of an airfoil motion at stall angles of attack was investigated. In this case, the airfoil was set at stall angles of attack rather than oscillating it. This study will provide the transient lift and drag at different deflection frequencies of 0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, 2 Hz, 5 Hz, and 10 Hz. The results showed that the lift coefficient for the airfoil increased by 20.15%, while a 16.58% delay in the dynamic stall angle was obtained for an oscillating airfoil with DMLE with AD = 0.01 and MST = 14.75°, as compared to the reference airfoil. Similarly, the lift coefficients for two other cases, where AD = 0.05 and AD = 0.0075, increased by 10.67% and 11.46%, respectively, compared to the reference airfoil. Furthermore, it was shown that the downward deflection of the leading edge increased the stall angle of attack and the nose-down pitching moment. Finally, it was concluded that the new radius of curvature of the DMLE airfoil minimized the streamwise adverse pressure gradient and prevented significant flow separation by delaying the Dynamic Stall Vortex (DSV) occurrence.

show abstract

“…However, although huge efforts have been made, the scientific and technological community has started wondering why morphing is not mature for practical implementation yet, at least on larger aircraft. In the present work, the authors intend to analyze three morphing wing assemblies, chosen between their most representative realizations developed during past and ongoing research projects, by assessing their technological level and identifying the related technology leaks, [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The output of such a study could be fully considered representative of the status of technology and provide important hints for their further development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Preliminary Technology Readiness Assessment of Morphing Technology Applied to Case Studies

Miceli¹,

Ameduri

Dimino

et al. 2023

Biomimetics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In an innovative system, it is essential to keep under control the crucial development phases, which should consider several aspects involving, for instance, the modeling or the assessment of suitable analytical representations. Aiming to pursue a final demonstration to verify the actual capability of an engineering idea, however, some fundamental elements may have been partially considered. Many projects state the initial and final technology readiness level based on the famous scale introduced by the US National and Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) many years ago and now widespread in many fields of technology innovation. Its nine-step definition provides a high-level indication of the maturity of the observed innovative system. Trivially, the resolution of that macroscopic meter is not made for catching advancement details, but it rather provides comprehensive information on the examined technology. It is, therefore, necessary to refer to more sophisticated analysis tools that can show a more accurate picture of the development stage and helps designers to highlight points that deserve further attention and deeper analysis. The risk is to perform a very good demonstration test that can miss generality and remain confined only to that specific experimental campaign. Moving on to these assumptions, the authors expose three realizations of theirs concerning aeronautic morphing systems, to the analysis of a well-assessed Technology Readiness Level instrument. The aim is to define the aspects to be further assessed, the aspect to be considered fully mature, and even aspects that could miss some elementary point to attain full maturation. Such studies are not so frequent in the literature, and the authors believe to give a valuable, yet preliminary, contribution to the engineering of breakthrough systems. Without losing generality, the paper refers to the 2.2 version of a tool set up by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and NASA, with the aim to standardize the evaluation process of the mentioned nine-step TRL.

show abstract

Status and Perspectives of Commercial Aircraft Morphing

Cited by 8 publications

References 44 publications

A UDF-Based Approach for the Dynamic Stall Evaluation of Airfoils for Micro-Air Vehicles

A UDF-Based Approach for the Dynamic Stall Evaluation of Airfoils for Micro-Air Vehicles

Flow Control around the UAS-S45 Pitching Airfoil Using a Dynamically Morphing Leading Edge (DMLE): A Numerical Study

A Preliminary Technology Readiness Assessment of Morphing Technology Applied to Case Studies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About