Flight vehicles are often designed to function around a primary operating point such as an efficient cruise or a high
maneuverability mode. Performance and efficiency deteriorate rapidly as the airplane moves towards other portions of
the flight envelope. One solution to this quandary is to radically change the shape of the aircraft. This yields both
improved efficiency and a larger flight envelope. This global shape change is an example of morphing aircraft . One
concept of morphing is the span morphing wing in which the wingspan is varied to accommodate multiple flight
regimes. This type of design allows for at least two discreet modes of the aircraft. The original configuration, in which
the extensible portion of the wing is fully retracted, yields a high speed dash mode. Fully extending the wing provides
the aircraft with a low speed mode tailored for fine tracking and loiter tasks.
This paper discusses the design of a span morphing wing that permits a change in the aspect ratio while simultaneously
supporting structural wing loads. The wing cross section is maintained by NACA 4412 rib sections . The span morphing
wing was investigated in different configurations. The wing area and the aspect ratio of the span morphing wing increase
as the wings pan increases. Computational aerodynamics are used to estimate the performance and dynamic
characteristics of each wing shape of this span morphing wing as its wingspan is changed. Results show that in order to
obtain the same lift, the conventional wing requires a larger angle of attach(AOA) than that of the span morphing
wing.The lift of the span morphing wing increases as the wing span ,Mach number and AOA increases.
This paper describes the design and investigation of the SMP composite hinge and the morphing wing structure. The SMP composite hinge was based on SMP and carbon fiber fabric. The twisting recoverability of it was investigated by heating and then cooling repeatedly above and below the Tg. The twisting recoverability characterized by the twisting angle. Results show that the SMP composite hinge have good shape recoverability, Recovery time has a great influence on the twisting recoverability. The twisting recovery ratio became large with the increment of recovery time.
The morphing wing can changes shape for different tasks. For the advantages of great recovery force and stable performances, we adopt SMP composite hinge as actuator to apply into the structure of the wing which can realize draw back wings to change sweep angle according to the speed and other requirements of military airplanes. Finally, a series of simulations and experiments are performed to investigate the deformations of morphing wings have been performed successfully. It can be seen that the sweep angle change became large with the increment of initial angle. The area reduction became large with the increment of initial angle, but after 75° the area reduction became smaller and smaller. The deformations of the triangle wing became large with the increment of temperature. The area and the sweep angle of wings can be controlled by adjusting the stimulate temperature and the initial twisting angle of shape memory polymer composite hinge.
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