Smart material actuators for airfoil morphing applications

Tieck, Ruth Marie; Mohanchandra, K. P.; Carman, Gregory P.

doi:10.1117/12.540342

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is a significant room for further improvements, such as in weight reduction and power enhancement. It has been reported that the power of ultrasonic motors could be increased for instance by fine-tuning the driver frequency (19,20) . Meanwhile, DC motors usually need a transmission mechanism to reduce the speed, which significantly decreases power density.…”

Section: Linear Ultrasonic Motor (Lusm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, their power consumption can be increased significantly as a result of cooling (18) . Piezoelectric ceramic can output large force at high speed and frequencies, and it has a power density 100 times that of SMA (19) . Although the maximum strain of piezoelectric ceramic is only ∼0.1%, they are usually used as microfibre composite (MFC) to bend thin structures (2) , and they can be an attractive option if the actuation displacement could be amplified without sacrificing the actuation force.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A morphing aerofoil with highly controllable aerodynamic performance

Soutis

Zhong

et al. 2016

Aeronaut. j.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, a morphing carbon fibre composite aerofoil concept with an active trailing edge is proposed. This aerofoil features of camber morphing with multiple degrees of freedom. The shape morphing is enabled by an innovative structure driven by an electrical actuation system that uses linear ultrasonic motors (LUSM) with compliant runners, enabling a full control of multiple degrees of freedom. The compliant runners also serve as structural components that carry the aerodynamic load and maintain a smooth skin curvature. The morphing structure with compliant truss is shown to exhibit a satisfactory flexibility and loading capacity in both numerical simulations and static loading tests. This design is capable of providing a pitching moment control independent of lift and higher L/D ratios within a wider range of angle of attack. Such multiple morphing configurations could expand the flight envelope of future unmanned aerial 2 vehicles. A small prototype is built to illustrate the concept but as no off-the-shelf LUSMs can be integrated into this bench top model, two servos are employed as actuators providing two controlled degrees of freedom. Keywords

show abstract

Section: Linear Ultrasonic Motor (Lusm)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A morphing aerofoil with highly controllable aerodynamic performance

Soutis

Zhong

et al. 2016

Aeronaut. j.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Table 1 presents the properties and the means of stimulation for various common smart materials. Generally, smart materials have a high energy density (Tieck et al, 2004). According to the requirements of a particular application (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphing aircraft based on smart materials and structures: A state-of-the-art review

Sun

Guan

Liu

et al. 2016

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures

271

137

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A traditional aircraft is optimized for only one or two flight conditions, not for the entire flight envelope. In contrast, the wings of a bird can be reshaped to provide optimal performance at all flight conditions. Any change in an aircraft’s configuration, in particular the wings, affects the aerodynamic performance, and optimal configurations can be obtained for each flight condition. Morphing technologies offer aerodynamic benefits for an aircraft over a wide range of flight conditions. The advantages of a morphing aircraft are based on an assumption that the additional weight of the morphing components is acceptable. Traditional mechanical and hydraulic systems are not considered good choices for morphing aircraft. “Smart” materials and structures have the advantages of high energy density, ease of control, variable stiffness, and the ability to tolerate large amounts of strain. These characteristics offer researchers and designers new possibilities for designing morphing aircraft. In this article, recent developments in the application of smart materials and structures to morphing aircraft are reviewed. Specifically, four categories of applications are discussed: actuators, sensors, controllers, and structures.

show abstract

Smart material actuators for airfoil morphing applications

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

A morphing aerofoil with highly controllable aerodynamic performance

A morphing aerofoil with highly controllable aerodynamic performance

Morphing aircraft based on smart materials and structures: A state-of-the-art review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About