New generations of highly manoeuverable aircraft, uninhabited combat air vehicles or micro air vehicles, are likely to feature very flexible lifting surfaces. To enhance the performance and control characteristics of these vehicles, the replacement of hinged control surfaces by small wings with morphing airfoils is investigated. This requires a fundamental understanding of the interaction between aerodynamics, structures, and control systems. The modeling of a smart wing with morphing airfoils is described. Trailing-edge flaps for maneuvering are replaced by airfoil morphing via distributed structural actuation. The goal is to build a model consistent with distributed control and to exercise this model to determine the progress possible in terms of flight control (lift, drag, and maneuver performance) with an adaptive wing. The model is used to study the roll performance and actuation power requirements of a smart wing with morphing airfoils. For selected flight conditions, actuation power requirements of a smart wing with morphing airfoils are compared to those of a conventional wing with trailing-edge flaps.
Computation of actuation power requirements for smart wings with morphing airfoils
Berechnung des Leistungsbedarfs der Aktoren adaptiver Tragflächen
AIAA Journal ; 43 , 12 ; 2481-2495
2005
15 Seiten, 24 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 19 Quellen
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
Computation of Actuation Power Requirements for Smart Wings With Morphing Airfoils
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002
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