Multiple flight regimes during typical aircraft missions mean that a single unique optimized configuration, that maximizes aerodynamic efficiency and maneuverability,\ud cannot be defined. Discrete components such as ailerons and flaps provide some adaptability,\ud although they are far from optimal. Wing morphing can significantly improve the performance\ud of future aircraft, by adapting the wing shape to the specific flight regime requirements,\ud but also represents a challenging problem: the structure has to be stiff to maintain its shape\ud under loads, and yet be flexible to deform without collapse. One solution is to adopt structural\ud elements made of smart materials; Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) have demonstrated their\ud suitability for many static applications due to their high structural integration potential and\ud remarkable actuation capabilities.\ud In this work, the airfoil camber at the wing trailing edge on a full scale wing of a civil\ud regional transportation aircraft is controlled by substituting a traditional split flap with a\ud hingeless, smooth morphed flap. Firstly, the development and testing of an actuator device\ud based on a SMA ribbon, capable of a net rotation of 5 deg, is presented. Then, a flap bay is\ud designed and experimentally tested in presence of static loads, based on a compliant rib built\ud as a series repetition of the proposed actuator. An aero-thermo-mechanical simulation within\ud a FE approach was adopted to estimate the behavior and performance of the compliant rib,\ud integrating both aerodynamic loads, by means of a Vortex Lattice Method (VLM) code, and\ud SMA phenomenology, implementing Liang and Rogers’ constitutive model. The prototype\ud showed good actuation performance even in presence of external loads. Very good numerical\ud experimental correlation is found for the unloaded case, while some fatigue issues emerged\ud in presence of static load
The adaptive structures concept is of great interest in the aerospace field because of the several benefits which can be accomplished in the fields including noise reduction, load alleviation, weight reduction, etc., at a level in which they can be considered as compulsory in the design of future aircraft. Improvements in terms of the aerodynamic efficiency, aeroelastic behavior, stability, and manoeuvrability performance have already been proved through many international studies in the past. In the family of the Smart Materials, Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) seem to be a suitable solution for many static applications. Their high structural integrability in conjunction with actuation capabilities and a favorable performance per weight ratio, allows the development of original architectures. In this study, a morphing wing trailing edge concept is presented; morphing ability was introduced with the aim of replacing a conventional flap device. A compliant rib structure was designed, based on SMA actuators exhibiting structural potential (bearing external aerodynamic loads). Numerical results, achieved through a FE approach, are presented in terms of trailing edge induced displacement and morphed shape.
Several flight regimes occurring during a typical aircraft mission make it impossible to define a unique optimized wing configuration able to maximize aerodynamic efficiency,\ud maneuverability, and stability in every flight condition. Components like ailerons and flaps, in some way, guarantee a certain level of adaptability, being far from optimal.\ud Wing morphing can strongly improve the aerodynamic efficiency of future aircraft by assuring an optimal adaptive behavior which best fits the specific flight regime requirements. Such an approach, in spite of related benefits, presents a challenging problem: the same structure rigid enough to keep its shape under the aerodynamic loads has to largely deform itself without\ud undergoing structural collapses. In the frame of a research project funded by Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A., the authors came to the definition of a novel morphing architecture\ud acting as high-lift device.\ud In this study, the design assessment of an innovative flap architecture for a variable-camber trailing edge is illustrated. The reference geometry is based on a full-scale wing of a reference civil regional transportation aircraft, where the conventional flap component has been substituted by a morphing trailing edge based on compliant ribs. The presented architecture moves toward the direction of assuring high deformability while keeping good load-sustaining capabilities: each rib is composed of multiple, suitably shaped rigid elements connected by\ud means of hinges and linking rods. The rib’s shape changes upon the activation of a smart actuator based on shape memory alloy technology. Design process of the morphing rib and integrated actuator structure has been widely discussed as well as the functional tests performed\ud on a technological demonstrator manufactured in order to prove the goodness of chosen design strategies and adopted numerical models
Based on numerical and experimental analyses, this article proposes an application of the smart structure concept aimed at realizing a bump on an airfoil profile, finalized to reduce transonic drag, through the use of shape memory alloys (SMAs). The ability of morphing the wing profile is functional to maximize the aerodynamic efficiency in different mission conditions. The use of the so-called smart materials allows a favorable actuation performance per weight ratio, also leading to simple and integrated devices. Currently, to model their mechanical behavior is still an open issue and this work presents some original ideas about this. Numerical results and experimental tests herein presented, demonstrate the efficacy of the developed concept device, calling for further studies on real structures; their correlation also validate the implemented simulation procedure
The scope of this work is to provide a critical review on the expectations about the morphing wing technology against the current open issues and showstoppers. In synergy to other emerging and promising technologies, morphing is asked for bridging the evident gap between the current growth trend of the aerospace compartment and its impact onto the environment. The potential of morphing, in particular, its primary impact on the aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft, primed the investigation of different technologies, achieving interesting results but often highlighting limitations and showstoppers against the airworthiness regulations. The authors focus their attention on some specific aspects that characterize the morphing wing attachments and that may represent weakness points for the maturation of the technology: the load transmission of the movable parts to the supporting wing box, the way the flexibility–rigidity paradox is addressed by specific critical components (the skin), the scalability dependence of the morphing architectures, and the specific aeroelastic behavior of the nonconventional architectures.
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