Adaptive compliant wing

An adaptive compliant wing is a wing which is flexible enough for aspects of its shape to be changed in flight.[1][2]

FlexSys

An adaptive compliant wing designed by FlexSys Inc. features a variable-camber trailing edge which can be deflected up to ±10°, thus acting like a flap-equipped wing, but without the individual segments and gaps typical in a flap system. The wing itself can be twisted up to 1° per foot of span. The wing's shape can be changed at a rate of 30° per second, which is ideal for gust load alleviation. The development of the adaptive compliant wing is being sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. Initially, the wing was tested in a wind tunnel, and then a 50-inch (1.3 m) section of wing was flight tested on board the Scaled Composites White Knight research aircraft in a seven-flight, 20-hour program operated from the Mojave Spaceport.[3] Control methods are proposed.[4]

ETH Zurich

Adaptive compliant wings are also investigated at ETH Zurich in the frame of the Smart airfoil project.[5][6]

EU Flexop and FLiPASED

The EU-funded Flexop program aims to develop to enable higher wing aspect ratio for less induced drag with lighter, more flexible airliner wings, along developing active flutter suppression for flexible wings. Partners include Hungary's MTA SZTAKI, Airbus, Austria's FACC, Inasco of Greece, Delft University of Technology, German aerospace center DLR, TUM, the UK's University of Bristol and RWTH Aachen University in Germany.[7]

On 19 November 2019, a 7 m (23 ft) span jet-powered UAV demonstrator with an aeroelastically tailored wing for passive load alleviation was flown in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, previously flown with a carbon-fiber, rigid wing to establish baseline performance. It has a conventional tube-and-wing configuration, unlike the blended wing body of the Lockheed Martin X-56. It follows the Grumman X-29 demonstrator in 1984, with more refined fiber orientations. The flexible wing is 4% lighter than the rigid one. The 54-month, €6.67 million ($7.4 million) project ends in November 2019, followed by the €3.85 million FLiPASED program from September 2019 until December 2022, using all the movable surfaces.[7]

The glass fiber flutter wing should to be flown in 2020, with unstable aeroelastic modes under 55 m/s (107 kn) that must be actively suppressed. With optimized aeroelastic tailoring and active flutter suppression, an aspect ratio of 12.4 could reduce fuel-burn by 5%, and 7% are targeted. FLiPASED is also led by MTA SZTAKI and include partners TUM, DLR and French aerospace research agency ONERA.[7]

See also

References
  1. "FlexSys Inc.: Aerospace". Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  2. Kota, Sridhar; Osborn, Russell; Ervin, Gregory; Maric, Dragan; Flick, Peter; Paul, Donald. "Mission Adaptive Compliant Wing – Design, Fabrication and Flight Test" (PDF). Ann Arbor, MI; Dayton, OH, U.S.A.: FlexSys Inc., Air Force Research Laboratory. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  3. Scott, William B. (27 November 2006), "Morphing Wings", Aviation Week & Space Technology
  4. US 4899284, Lewis, George E.; Robert E. Thomasson & David W. Nelson, "Wing lift/drag optimizing system", published 6 February 1990
  5. Smart airfoil project "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-03-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ETH compliant wing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoi78x4HP_M/
  7. Graham Warwick (Nov 25, 2019). "The Week In Technology, Nov. 25-29, 2019". Aviation Week & Space Technology.


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