• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.9-12
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• 2005

Recently, research on the morphing wing is an interesting issue to develop the capability of the wing such as improving the lift and reduction of drag during the operation of an aircraft by changing the wing shape from one configuration to another. A more efficient weight reduction of the wing using smart or morphing wing concept can be achieved in comparison with the conventional flaps. In this study, it is investigated the behaviors of the morphing wing using Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) actuators. Generally, MFC is the piezocomposite actuator with the rectangular PZT fiber and epoxy matrix, and uses the interdigitated electrode to produce more powerful actuation in the in-plane direction. Furthermore, it can produce the twisting actuation as compared with the traditional PZT actuators. In the formulation, the first-order shear deformation plate theory is used, and finite element method is adopted in the numerical analysis of the model. Results show the characteristics of the static behavior of the morphing wing according to the change of the actuation voltage.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.103-117
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• 2022

In this paper, a novel morphing mechanism using a deployable scissor structure was proposed for a variable camber morphing wing. The mechanism was designed through the optimization process so that the rib can form the target airfoils with different cambers. Lastly, the morphing wing was manufactured and its performance was successfully evaluated. The mechanism of the morphing wing rib was realized by a set of deployable scissor structure that can form diverse curvatures. This characteristic of the structure allows the mechanism to vary the camber that refers to the airfoil's curvature. The mechanism is not restrictive in defining the target shapes, allowing various airfoils and overall morphing wing shape to be implemented.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 2012

In general, a conventional flap on an aircraft wing can reduce the aerodynamic efficiency due to geometric discontinuity. On the other hand, the aerodynamic performance can be improved by using a shape-morphing wing instead of a separate flap. In this research, a new flap morphing mechanism that can change the wing shape smoothly was devised to prevent aerodynamic losses. Moreover, a prototype wing was fabricated to demonstrate the morphing mechanism. A shape memory alloy (SMA) wire actuator was used for the morphing wing. The specific current range was measured to control the SMA actuator. The deflection angles at the trailing edge were also measured while various currents were applied to the SMA actuator. The trailing edge of the wing changed smoothly when the current was applied. Moreover, the deflection angle also increased as the current increased. The maximum frequency level was around 0.1 Hz. The aerodynamic performance of the deformed airfoil by the SMA wire was analyzed by using the commercial program GAMBIT and FLUENT. The results were compared with the results of an undeformed wing. It was demonstrated that the morphing mechanism changes the wing shape smoothly without the extension of the wing skin.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

The morphing flap wing has different structure unliked general wing structure. The actuated chord length of the morphing flap was more longer than conventional wing flap. In this reason, morphing flap wing structure was important to bending moment by aerodynamic lift force. In this study, through the fluid-structure interaction using computational fluid dynamics and structure finite element analysis to apply that the morphing flap wing's static aeroelastic stability analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

In the aerospace field, the study on a morphing-wing is in progress to improve flight performance and perform multi flight mission. There are many concepts of morphing-wing such as camber-change, wing-twist, variable-span, and so on. In this study, the aerodynamic characteristics and flight control of an air vehicle with a variable-span morphing wing (VSMW) have been investigated. VSMW with symmetric span control(SSC) can increase cruising range of aircraft by reducing drag in various flight condition. VSMW with anti-symmetric span control(ASSC) can be used in the roll control of an aircraft. The flight control about pure rolling dynamic system and full dynamic system have been performed about the cruise missile.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2013

Morphing aircraft capable of varying their wing form can operate efficiently at various flight conditions. However, radical morphing of the aircraft leads to increased structural complexities, resulting in occurrence of dynamic instabilities such as flutter, which can lead to catastrophic events. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to investigate and understand the changes in flutter characteristics of morphing wings, to ensure uncompromised safety and maximum reliability. In this paper, a study on the flutter characteristics of the folding wing type morphing concept is conducted, to examine the effect of changes in folding angles on the flutter speed and flutter frequency. The subsonic aerodynamic theory Doublet Lattice Method (DLM) and p-k method are used, to perform the flutter analysis in MSC.NASTRAN. The present baseline flutter characteristics correspond well with the results from previous study. Furthermore, enhancement of the flutter characteristics of an aluminum folding wing is proposed, by varying the outboard wing folding angle independently of the inboard wing folding angle. It is clearly found that the flutter characteristics are strongly influenced by changes in the inboard/outboard folding angles, and significant improvement in the flutter characteristics of a folding wing can be achieved, by varying its outboard wing folding angle.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.34-39
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• 2003

Morphing wing sections actuated by piezoceramic actuator LIPCA have been designed and their actuation displacements estimated by using the therml analogy and MSC/NASTRAN based on the linear elasticity. The wing sections are fabricated as the design and tested for evaluation. Measured actuation displacements were larger than the estimated values mainly due to the material non-linearity of the PIT wafer. The morphing wing sections can be used for control surfaces of small scale UAVs or MAVs.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.303-328
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• 2015

A design methodology is presented to develop the hingeless control surfaces for MAV using adhesively bonded Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) actuators. These actuators have got the capability to deflect the trailing edge surfaces of the wing to attain the required maneuverability, besides achieving the set aerodynamic trim condition. A scheme involving design, analysis, fabrication and testing procedure has been adopted to realize the trailing edge morphing mechanism. The stiffness distribution of the composite MAV wing is tailored such that the induced deflection by piezoelectric actuation is approximately optimized. Through ground testing, the proposed concept has been demonstrated on a typical MAV structure. Electromechanical analysis is performed to evaluate the actuator performance and subsequently aeroelastic and 2D CFD analyses are carried out to see the functional requirements of wing trailing edge surfaces to behave as elevons. Efforts have been made to obtain the performance comparison of conventional control surfaces (elevons) with morphing wing trailing edge surfaces. A significant improvement in lift to drag ratio is noticed with morphed wing configuration in comparison to conventional wing. Further, it has been shown that the morphed wing trailing edge surfaces can be deployed as elevons for aerodynamic trim applications.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.659-678
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• 2014

The study is aimed at investigating the feasibility of a high TRL solution for a wing flap segment characterized by morphable camber airfoil and properly tailored to be implemented on a real-scale regional transportation aircraft. On the base of specific aerodynamic requirements in terms of target airfoil shapes and related external loads, the structural layout of the device was preliminarily defined. Advanced FE analyses were then carried out in order to properly size the load-carrying structure and the embedded actuation system. A full scale limited span prototype was finally manufactured and tested to: ${\bullet}$ demonstrate the morphing capability of the conceived structural layout; ${\bullet}$ demonstrate the capability of the morphing structure to withstand static loads representative of the limit aerodynamic pressures expected in service; ${\bullet}$ characterize the dynamic behavior of the morphing structure through the identification of the most significant normal modes. Obtained results showed high correlation levels with respect to numerical expectations thus proving the compliance of the device with the design requirements as well as the goodness of modeling approaches implemented during the design phase.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.562-567
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• 2016

Morphing wing which has a configuration optimized to flight speed and condition is faced to a lot of barriers to be overcome such as actuator technique, structural mechanization technique, flexible skin material, control law, and so on. As the first step for developing a morphing wing with rapid response, we designed and fabricated the morphing airfoil using a SMA(shape memory alloy) wire actuator and torsional bias springs. The design concept of the morphing airfoil was verified through operation test. The measured results show that the flap deflects smoothly and fast.