Aircraft control has been limited through the use of rigid wings and control surfaces. Inspired by flight in nature, the use of morphing flight surfaces allow a single aircraft to have both improved maneuverability and enable it to adapt to different flight regimes. Military UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) designs are asked to perform a wide variety of missions from tactical urban reconnaissance, high-endurance, high-altitude reconnaissance, and high speed close air support. Each mission requires a different aircraft; however, either due to cost, survivability or in-theater availability, these dedicated aircraft are a luxury of the past. Advances in materials and aerodynamics make it feasible to create aircraft which can change geometry in order to carry out multiple missions. Research funded by NASA Dryden, Aurora Flight Sciences and the WV NASA Space Grant is being conducted at West Virginia University on the control of a swept wing tailless UAV using wing morphing. Adaptive washout and variable sweep are used for control and to reconfigure the UAV for different flight regimes. Results have shown significant improvements in aerodynamic efficiency and the possibility of future birdlike flight. This research is using a combination of experimental wind-tunnel work, flight demonstrators and CFD to explore new possibilities in flight.
Control of a swept wing tailless UAv through wing morphing
Kontrolle eines mit Pfeilflügeln versehenen schwanzlosen unbemannten Luftfahrzeugs durch Flügelgestaltung
2007
16 Seiten, 20 Bilder, 9 Quellen
Conference paper
Storage medium
English
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