Computational Analysis of 3D Lattice Structures for Skin in Real-Scale Camber Morphing Aircraft

Conventional or fixed wings require a certain thickness of skin material selection that guarantees structurally reliable strength under expected aerodynamic loadings. However, skin structures of morphing wings need to be flexible as well as stiff enough to deal with multi-axial structural stresses from changed geometry and the coupled aerodynamic loadings. Many works in the design of skin structures for morphing wings take the approach either of only geometric compliance or a simplified model that does not fully represent 3D real-scale wing models. Thus, the main theme of this study is (1) to numerically identify the multi-axial stress, strain, and deformation of skin in a camber morphing wing aircraft under both structure and aerodynamic loadings, and then (2) to show the effectiveness of a direct approach that uses 3D lattice structures for skin. Various lattice structures and their direct 3D wing models have been numerically analyzed for advanced skin design

Simplified 2D Skin Lattice Models for Multi-Axial Camber Morphing Wing Aircraft

Conventional fixed wing aircraft require a selection of certain thickness of skin material that guarantees structural strength for aerodynamic loadings in various flight modes. However, skin structures of morphing wings are expected to be flexible as well as stiff to structural and coupled aerodynamic loadings from geometry change. Many works in the design of skin structures for morphing wings consider only geometric compliance. Among many morphing classifications, we consider camber rate change as airfoil morphing that changes its rate of the airfoil that induces warping, twisting, and bending in multi-axial directions, which makes compliant skin design for morphing a challenging task. It is desired to design a 3D skin structure for a morphing wing; however, it is a computationally challenging task in the design stage to optimize the design parameters. Therefore, it is of interest to establish the structure design process in rapid approaches. As a first step, the main theme of this study is to numerically validate and suggest simplified 2D plate models that fully represents multi-axial 3D camber morphing. In addition to that, the authors show the usage of lattice structures for the 2D plate models’ skin that will lead to on-demand design of advanced structure through the modification of selected structure

The Effects of Coolant Pipe Geometry and Flow Conditions on Turbine Blade Film Cooling

The performance of gas turbine engines can be improved by increasing the inlet gas temperature. Turbine blades can be damaged by high gas temperature, unless additional cooling mechanisms are incorporated to maintain the blades below an acceptable temperature limit. Film cooling techniques are often used to cool the blades to avoid damages. The performance of film cooling depends on several parameters, however. In this paper past research on film cooling is reviewed and areas in need of further investigation are identified. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are then conducted on the widely-used single-hole film cooling arrangements in which coolant jets are injected into air flows inside a straight channel before issuing onto the blades. Cooling pipe-blade configurations and flow conditions are varied and the resulting flow hydrodynamics are examined. Counter rotating vortex pairs (CRVPs) formed in the flow strongly influence the film cooling performance. Small coolant inclination angles, exit holes enlargement in span wise direction, higher injected fluid density, and higher injectedambient fluid velocity ratios are all found to maintain the CRVPs away from each other and close to wall - both of which promote cooling. Pipe curvature can be used for enhancing cooling by exploiting the centrifugal force effect

Design of Advanced Skin Structure using Lattice for Camber Morphing Wing

When any morphing wing structures and controls are considered, an important parameter is often overlooked, which is the skin for the wing. Conventional fixed wings only require a certain thickness of skin material/structure to endure aerodynamic loading in general. However, the nature of morphing wings that constantly change and adjust wing shapes to optimize the flight performance makes the skin design much more complicated and challenging. When the wing morphs, the skin should comply with the altered geometry while maintaining its stiffness for aerodynamic loadings in various flight modes. Advantages of flexible skins include their large deformation capability and low elastic modulus. However, many works in the design of skins for morphing wings, which typically use smart materials, consider only geometric or static deformations but not dynamic ones. A simple geometry-structured material for skin is not very compliant for multi-dimensional morphing motions such as camber change and twisting, limited in meeting various aerodynamic and structural loadings and stresses, and expensive to establish design process for customized skins for morphing wings. The main theme of this proposal is to design advanced skin structures for camber morphing wing aircraft. Thus, this study focuses on skin design process and procedure for Variable Camber Compliant Wings (VCCW) thorough modeling, stress/strain analysis, and experiments of solid and lattice structures

Computational Analysis of 3D Lattice Structures for Skin in Real-Scale Camber Morphing Aircraft

Conventional or fixed wings require a certain thickness of skin material selection that guarantees structurally reliable strength under expected aerodynamic loadings. However, skin structures of morphing wings need to be flexible as well as stiff enough to deal with multi-axial structural stresses from changed geometry and the coupled aerodynamic loadings. Many works in the design of skin structures for morphing wings take the approach either of only geometric compliance or a simplified model that does not fully represent 3D real-scale wing models. Thus, the main theme of this study is (1) to numerically identify the multi-axial stress, strain, and deformation of skin in a camber morphing wing aircraft under both structure and aerodynamic loadings, and then (2) to show the effectiveness of a direct approach that uses 3D lattice structures for skin. Various lattice structures and their direct 3D wing models have been numerically analyzed for advanced skin design