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Why Morphing Wings?
A parabolic (morphing) flap is more efficient! The ideal section flap effectiveness, shown on the right, is the measure of how a single degree of flap deflection measures against a single degree of change in angle of attack.
In other words, as shown here, the parabolic flap always controls the flow more smoothly than the articulated (straight rotation) flap. In fact, a parabolic flap with a flap chord fraction of about 0.4 is as effective as a single degree rotation in angle of attack.
I presented this work at SciTech 2021 -- Moulton, B. C., and Hunsaker, D. F., “3D-Printed Wings with Morphing Trailing-Edge Technology,” AIAA Scitech Forum Virtual Event, January 2021, AIAA-2021-0351 DOI: 10.2514/6.2021-0351
As well as my thesis -- Moulton, Benjamin C., "3D-Printed Morphing Wings for Controlling Yaw on Flying-Wing Aircraft" (2021). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 8178. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8178
Or watch the presentation!
Or watch the presentation!
Keep scrolling to see the concepts I developed
I've been working on this for a long time!
Check out some of the concepts I considered and tested along the way :
Concept 1
This concept started it all! It has a stiff foam leading edge, a flexible foam trailing edge, and ribs interspersed along the span for control deflection.
Concept 2
This concept has a stiff foam leading edge, a flexible foam trailing edge skin, and ribs interspersed along the span for control deflection.
Concept 3
This concept was my first step toward 3D printing a morphing wing. It has a stiffer skin which is controlled via ribs which are underneath the skin.
Concept 4
This concept employs the FishBAC design. It is fully 3D printed from a stiffer plastic.
Concept 5
This concept has stiff FishBAC ribs, with stringers connecting over which an elastomeric skin could be placed.
Concept 6
This concept has stiff FishBAC ribs, with curved stringers connecting over which an elastomeric skin could be placed.
Concept 7
Concept 8
This concept has a FishBAC design with a stiff leading edge and a flexible trailing edge. No prototypes were made.
Concept 9
This concept has a FishBAC design with the fish bones overlapping to avoid the hastle of adding a skin. No prototypes were made.
Concept 10
This concept has a FishBAC design with layered stiff and flexible material. No prototypes were made.
Concept 11
This concept has a semi-flexible skin made from a grid / mesh material. No prototypes were made.
Concept 12
This concept is made of wood, with a rotary joint about which discretized sections are rotated. No prototypes were made.
Concept 13
This concept has a stiff skin which is deflected internally using a tongue-clevis design.
Concept 14
Now we're getting somewhere! This concept has a blended stiff and flexible skin, with flexible ARCS connecting the upper and lower surfaces of the trailing edge to define the parabolic flap.
Concept 15
This concept is made of layered stiff and flexible material, with a rotary joint about which discretized sections are rotated. No prototypes were made.
Concept 16
This concept has a blended stiff and flexible skin, with flexible ARCS connecting the upper and lower surfaces of the trailing edge to define the parabolic flap. It differs from concept 14 in that there is a tongue-clevis mechanism on both the upper and lower surfaces.
Concept 17
This concept is made of discrete laser cut birch-wood ribs, which are connected with a flexible string material.
Concept 18 -- Final Design
Finally! This concept is 3D printed, with a KINC connecting the upper and lower surfaces to define parabolic deflection.
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