Abstract
The idea of morphing is drawing extensive attention in aerospace technologies. Several different approaches like span, camber, twist, and sweep are finding applications. In this work, the concept of a trailing edge control surface which is capable of performing decamber morphing is explained. The upper and lower parts of the control surface undergo different chordwise elongations and the difference between these displacements gives rise to either camber or decamber morphing. The necessary force is achieved by the help of servo actuators. During the design, the structural analyses were done to determine the best viable options for the number of servo actuators, the location of the servo actuators, and the material properties used in the control surface. The control surface was designed of aluminum, composite and compliant materials hence was called a hybrid one. The structural analyses were conducted by using ANSYS® Workbench v14.0 package program. After finding the best viable design, which was made for in vacuo condition, the proposed design was also verified under the simulated aerodynamic loading. The aerodynamic loads were obtained from CFD analyses which were done with SU2 V3.2.3 open-source flow solver.
Highlights
The presence of morphing technology in the aircraft design has allowed the aircraft to change its shape
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis done in order to get the aerodynamic loads is followed by the analyses of the control surface under the simulated aerodynamic loading
This paper describes the design and analyses of a hybrid trailing edge control surface developed for an unmanned aerial vehicle
Summary
The presence of morphing technology in the aircraft design has allowed the aircraft to change its shape. The unconventional control surfaces with the smart-material-made actuators and the compliant mechanisms can provide smooth shape changes along the wing surface, can decrease the adverse effects of the conventional ones. The desired camber variation shape change of the trailing edge control surface is achieved by altering the angle of the spokes, which connect the upper and lower parts of the belt [9]. In the developed concept the gap, which exists between the wing and the control surface in conventional designs, is eliminated, thereby a smooth flow over the wing-box and the trailing edge is provided. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis done in order to get the aerodynamic loads is followed by the analyses of the control surface under the simulated aerodynamic loading
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