Variable Camber Wings using Compliant Mechanisms

Wing morphing is the manipulation of a wing shape to influence aerodynamics. Wing morphing has significant aerodynamic advantages over traditional flaps, including increased efficiency and control. The USU Aerolab specializes in morphing aircraft and is currently working with the Air Force Research Lab on morphing straight wings [1-4]. The purpose of this project is to identify methods for applying morphing technologies to swept-wing aircraft. These methods are then used to create a morphing wing aircraft to demonstrate the efficiency and control of morphing flight with a swept wing.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2019/1003/thumbnail.jp

3D-Printed Morphing Wings for Controlling Yaw on Flying-Wing Aircraft

The flaps on an airplane wing are used to control the aircraft during flight. These flaps traditionally have at most three articulation or hinge points. Recent studies have shown improved flap efficiency using a conformal flap which deforms following a curved shape. Much of aircraft improvement comes through increasing its efficiency during flight. This efficiency is generally improved by decreasing the drag force on the aircraft. A potential solution to decrease drag is to remove additional lifting surfaces, such as the horizontal and vertical stabilizer ubiquitous on general aviation aircraft. These additional lifting surfaces are used to trim and control the aircraft during flight. A flying-wing aircraft, which has no additional lifting surfaces, is trimmed and controlled using multiple flaps along the main wing. 3D-printing the mechanisms used to control these flaps has significant advantages. 3D-printing is fast, cheap, easy to repeat, easy to replicate, and produces durable parts. Two morphing mechanisms manufactured using 3D-printing are presented as viable solutions to demonstrate yaw control on a flying-wing aircraft. The Airfoil Recambering Compliant System (ARCS) is presented as a solution for a wing using a single flap with multiple actuators. The Kinetic Internal Nexus Compliant System (KINCS) is presented as a solution for a wing using multiple flaps, each with a single actuator. The final KINCS design used for a prototype flying-wing aircraft is presented.Presentation Time: Wednesday, 12-1 p.m.Zoom link: https://usu-edu.zoom.us/j/88527578213?pwd=c084OW02TXlYRHdkLzVYS25GVFhvQT0

Beyond Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness: Rethinking Best Practices

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97482/1/jlme.12031.pd

3D-Printed Morphing Wings for Controlling Yaw on Flying-Wing Aircraft

The flaps on an airplane wing are used to control the aircraft during flight. These flaps traditionally have at most three articulation or hinge points. Recent studies have shown improved flap efficiency using a conformal flap, which deforms following a curved shape. Much of aircraft improvement comes through increasing its efficiency during flight. This efficiency is generally improved by decreasing the drag force on the aircraft. A potential solution to decrease drag is to remove additional lifting surfaces, such as the horizontal and vertical stabilizer ubiquitous on general aviation aircraft. These additional lifting surfaces are used to trim and control the aircraft during flight. A flying-wing aircraft, which has no additional lifting surfaces, is trimmed and controlled using multiple flaps along the main wing. 3D-printing the mechanisms used to control these flaps has significant advantages. 3D-printing is fast, cheap, easy to repeat, easy to replicate, and produces durable parts. Two morphing mechanisms manufactured using 3D-printing are presented as viable solutions to demonstrate yaw control on a flying-wing aircraft. The Airfoil Recambering Compliant System (ARCS) is presented as a solution for a wing using a single flap with multiple actuators. The Kinetic Internal Nexus Compliant System (KINCS) is presented as a solution for a wing using multiple flaps, each with a single actuator. The final KINCS design used for a prototype flying-wing aircraft is presented

An Alternate Dimensionless Form of the Linearized Rigid-Body Aircraft Equations of Motion with Emphasis on Dynamic Parameters

The equations of motion for an aircraft can be linearized about a reference condition within the assumptions of small disturbances and linear aerodynamics. The resulting system of equations is typically solved to obtain the eigenvalues and eigenvectors that describe the small disturbance motion of the aircraft. Results from such an analysis are often used to predict the rigid-body dynamic modes of the aircraft and associated handling qualities. This process is typically carried out in dimensional form in most text books, or in nondimensional form using dimensionless parameters rooted in aerodynamic theory. Here we apply Buckingham’s Pi theorem to obtain nondimensional parameters based on the aircraft rigid-body dynamics rather than aerodynamics. This approach may be more useful for understanding how aircraft dynamics scale with appropriate design parameters

Simplified Mass and Inertial Estimates for Aircraft with Components of Constant Density

Aircraft mass and inertial properties are required for predicting the dynamics and handling qualities of aircraft. However, such properties can be difficult to estimate since these depend on the external shape and internal structure, systems, and mass distributions within the airframe. Mass and inertial properties of aircraft are often predicted using computer-aided design software, or measured using various experimental techniques. The present paper presents a method for quickly predicting the mass and inertial properties of complete aircraft consisting of components of constant density. Although the assumption of constant density may appear limiting, the method presented in this paper can be used to approximate mass properties of complex internal structures. Inertial estimates for rectangular cuboids, cylinders, spheres, wing segments, and rotors are presented here. The influence of geometric properties of wing segments such as sweep, taper, airfoil geometry, and dihedral are included. The utility of the method is presented and the accuracy is evaluated with various test cases

3D-Printed Wings with Morphing Trailing-Edge Technology

In recent years, various groups have attempted to improve aircraft efficiency using wings with morphing trailing-edge technology. Most of these solutions are difficult to manufacture or have limited morphing capability. The present paper outlines a research effort to develop an easy to manufacture, fully 3D-printed morphing wing. This approach is advantageous due to the low cost, minimal man-hours required for manufacturing, and speed at which design iterations can be explored. Several prototypes were designed and tested and lessons learned from these iterations have been documented. Additionally, printer settings have been tested and catalogued to assist others attempting to reproduce these results. Performance was considered in terms of total deflection. Two concepts are presented as potential 3D-printed morphing-wing mechanisms. The Airfoil Recambering Compliant System (ARCS) is presented as a solution for a wing using continuous trailing-edge technology. The Kinetic Internal Nexus Compliant System (KINCS) is presented as a solution for a wing using discontinuous trailing-edge technology. The final KINCS design used for a prototype flying-wing aircraft is presented