Development of a new flexible wing concept for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle using corrugated core made by 4D printing of composites

Abstract

This paper presents a feasibility study on the application of the method of 4D printing of composites for the efficient manufacturing of adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) morphing wing. The ACTE morphing wing is a tapered sandwich structure made of composite materials. The wing has flat upper and lower skins, and a corrugated core. The corrugated core is made using the concept of 4D printing of composites. With this concept, there is no need for a mold with complex geometry to make the corrugated core. Instead only a flat mold is used. A prototype of the wing was made and tested. It was shown that this wing can sustain the load for a medium size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, with flex angle up to 20°.