Control strategies for an experimental morphing wing model

Grigorie, Teodor Lucian; Попов, А. В.; Botez, Ruxandra

doi:10.2514/6.2014-2187

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Consequently, the project was finalised by developing an automatic system that, based on the information related to the pressure distribution along the wing chord, moved the transition point from the laminar to the turbulent regime closer to the trailing edge in order to obtain a larger laminar flow region. Based on the strong nonlinear behaviour of the SMA actuators, but also in strong correlation with the project experimental model development phase, different control strategies were used, starting from the open loop architecture to a real-time optimised closed loop architecture (2,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) . After this big collaborative project, our morphing wing experience continued with the design, optimisation, manufacturing and testing of various deformable wings in our proper wind tunnel at ETS in Montreal (Price-Païdoussis wind tunnel).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel morphing wing actuator control-based Particle Swarm Optimisation

et al. 2019

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The paper presents the design and experimental testing of the control system used in a new morphing wing application with a full-scaled portion of a real wing. The morphing actuation system uses four similar miniature brushless DC (BLDC) motors placed inside the wing, which execute a direct actuation of the flexible upper surface of the wing made from composite materials. The control system of each actuator uses three control loops (current, speed and position) characterised by five control gains. To tune the control gains, the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) method is used. The application of the PSO method supposed the development of a MATLAB/Simulink® software model for the controlled actuator, which worked together with a software sub-routine implementing the PSO algorithm to find the best values for the five control gains that minimise the cost function. Once the best values of the control gains are established, the software model of the controlled actuator is numerically simulated in order to evaluate the quality of the obtained control system. Finally, the designed control system is experimentally validated in bench tests and wind-tunnel tests for all four miniature actuators integrated in the morphing wing experimental model. The wind-tunnel testing treats the system as a whole and includes, besides the evaluation of the controlled actuation system, the testing of the integrated morphing wing experimental model and the evaluation of the aerodynamic benefits brought by the morphing technology on this project. From this last perspective, the airflow on the morphing upper surface of the experimental model is monitored by using various techniques based on pressure data collection with Kulite pressure sensors or on infrared thermography camera visualisations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel morphing wing actuator control-based Particle Swarm Optimisation

et al. 2019

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“…The flow cases were chosen by combining several Mach numbers and angles of attack. The reference values for the controllers were the necessary actuators displacements stored in the database, obtained as differences between the optimised aerofoils and reference aerofoil at the level of the actuation lines (29,30) . In its final configuration, called "closed loop", the morphing wing model was controlled by using a method based on the estimated position of the transition point by using the pressure information provided by the sensors fixed on the wing upper surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this configuration, the first control method of the actuation lines was used as inner loop. The methodology implemented an optimiser code designed to find the best actuation configuration for the two actuation lines in order to maximise the position of the transition bringing it closer to the trailing edge (30)(31)(32) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new hybrid control methodology for a morphing aircraft wing-tip actuation mechanism

et al. 2019

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The focus of this paper is on the modelling of miniature electromechanical actuators used in a morphing wing application, on the development of a control concept for these actuators, and on the experimental validation of the designed control system integrated in the morphing wing-tip model for a real aircraft. The assembled actuator includes as its main component a brushless direct current motor coupled to a trapezoidal screw by using a gearing system. A Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) is attached on each actuator giving back the actuator position in millimetres for the control system, while an encoder placed inside the motor provides the position of the motor shaft. Two actuation lines, each with two actuators, are integrated inside the wing model to change its shape. For the experimental model, a full-scaled portion of an aircraft wing tip is used with the chord length of 1.5 meters and equipped on the upper surface with a flexible skin made of composite fibre materials. A controllable voltage provided by a power amplifier is used to drive the actuator system. In this way, three control loops are designed and implemented, one to control the torque and the other two to control the position in a parallel architecture. The parallel position control loops use feedback signals from different sources. For the first position control loop, the feedback signal is provided by the integrated encoder, while for the second one, the feedback signal comes from the LVDT. For the experimental model, the parameters for the torque control, but also for the position control-based encoder signal, are implemented in the power amplifier energising the electrical motor. On the other hand, a National Instruments real-time system is used to implement and test the position control-based LVDT signal. The experimental validation of the developed control system is realised in two independent steps: bench testing with no airflow and wind-tunnel testing. The pressure data provided by a number of Kulite sensors equipping the flexible skin upper surface and the infrared thermography camera visualisations are used to estimate the laminar-to-turbulent transition point position.

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“…The feedback from the controlled system was provided by two linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), while six thermocouples were used to sense the actuator position and its temperature respectively. [18][19][20][21][22] The configuration tested previously, regarding the morphing wing project developed at ETS, was called ''open-loop'' configuration or architecture although the actuator position has been controlled. This convention has been adopted to make the difference between control based on pressure sensor data and control based on LVDT as feedback signal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The best wing shape for a flow condition was achieved based on the real-time optimization algorithm finding the best actuation combination between the two actuation lines maximizing the delay of the transition; the optimization algorithm combined ''the gradient ascent'' or ''hill climbing'' method with the ''simulated annealing'' method. 19,23,24 Kammegne et al [25][26][27] also realized at Research Laboratory in Active Controls, Avionics and Aeroservoelasticity (LARCASE), in ETS, a new actuation mechanism for a morphing wing prototype (ATR-42). It consisted of two electrical machines coupled to two eccentric axes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New control methodology for a morphing wing demonstrator

Kammegne

Tondji

Botez

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

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A morphing wing can improve the aircraft aerodynamic performance by changing the wing airfoil depending on the flight conditions. In this paper, a new control methodology is presented for a morphing wing demonstrator tested in a subsonic wind tunnel in the open-loop configuration. Actuators integrated inside the wing are used to modify the flexible structure, which is an integral part of the wing. In this project, the actuators are made in-house and controlled with logic control, which is developed within the main frame of this work. The characterization of the flow (laminar or turbulent) over the wing is obtained starting from the pressure signals measured over the flexible part of the wing (upper surface). The signals are acquired by using some pressure sensors (Kulite sensors) incorporated in this flexible part of the wing upper surface. The technique used to collect Kulite pressure data and the post-processing methodology are explained. The recorded pressure data are sometimes subjected to noise, which is filtered before being processed. The standard deviation and power spectrum visualization of the pressure data approaches are used to evaluate the quality of the flow over the wing and estimate the transition point position in the area monitored by the Kulite sensors. In addition, infrared thermography visualization is implemented to observe the transition region over the entire wing upper surface, and to validate the methodology applied to the pressure data in this way. The demonstrator measures 1.5 m chordwise and 1.5 m spanwise. Four miniature actuators fixed on two actuation lines are used to morph the wing. The wing is also equipped with a rigid aileron. The experimental aerodynamic results obtained after post processing validate the numerical prediction for the transition location.

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Control strategies for an experimental morphing wing model

Cited by 13 publications

References 22 publications

Novel morphing wing actuator control-based Particle Swarm Optimisation

Novel morphing wing actuator control-based Particle Swarm Optimisation

A new hybrid control methodology for a morphing aircraft wing-tip actuation mechanism

New control methodology for a morphing wing demonstrator

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