To investigate the control of morphing wings by means of interacting effectors,this article proposes a distributed coordinated control scheme with sampled communication on the basis of a simple morphing wing model,est...To investigate the control of morphing wings by means of interacting effectors,this article proposes a distributed coordinated control scheme with sampled communication on the basis of a simple morphing wing model,established with arrayed agents. The control scheme can change the shape of airfoil into an expected one and keep it smooth during morphing. As the interconnection of communication network and the agents would make the behavior of the morphing wing system complicated,a diagrammatic stability analysis method is put forward to ensure the system stability. Two simulations are carried out on the morphing wing system by using MATLAB. The results stand witness to the feasibility of the distributed coordinated control scheme and the effectiveness of the diagrammatic stability analysis method.展开更多
Raptors are getting more attention from researchers because of their excellent flight abilities.And the excellent wing morphing ability is critical for raptors to achieve high maneuvering flight,which can be a good bi...Raptors are getting more attention from researchers because of their excellent flight abilities.And the excellent wing morphing ability is critical for raptors to achieve high maneuvering flight,which can be a good bionic inspiration for unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV)design.However,morphing wing motions of Falco peregrinus with multi postures cannot be consulted since such a motion database was nonexistent.This study aimed to provide data reference for future research in wing morphing kinetics.We used the computed tomography(CT)approach to obtain nine critical postures of the Falco peregrinus wing skeleton,followed with motion analysis of each joint and bone.Based on the obtained motion database,a six-bar kinematic model was proposed to regenerate wing motions with a high fidelity.展开更多
Flexible,compact,lightweight and sustainable power sources are indispensable for modern wearable and personal electronics and small-unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs).Hierarchical honeycomb has the unique merits of compac...Flexible,compact,lightweight and sustainable power sources are indispensable for modern wearable and personal electronics and small-unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs).Hierarchical honeycomb has the unique merits of compact mesostructures,excellent energy absorption properties and considerable weight to strength ratios.Herein,a honeycomb-inspired triboelectric nanogenerator(h-TENG)is proposed for biomechanical and UAV morphing wing energy harvesting based on contact triboelectrification wavy surface of cellular honeycomb structure.The wavy surface comprises a multilayered thin film structure(combining polyethylene terephthalate,silver nanowires and fluorinated ethylene propylene)fabricated through high-temperature thermoplastic molding and wafer-level bonding process.With superior synchronization of large amounts of energy generation units with honeycomb cells,the manufactured h-TENG prototype produces the maximum instantaneous open-circuit voltage,short-circuit current and output power of 1207 V,68.5μA and 12.4 mW,respectively,corresponding to a remarkable peak power density of 0.275 mW cm^(−3)(or 2.48 mW g^(−1))under hand pressing excitations.Attributed to the excellent elastic property of self-rebounding honeycomb structure,the flexible and transparent h-TENG can be easily pressed,bent and integrated into shoes for real-time insole plantar pressure mapping.The lightweight and compact h-TENG is further installed into a morphing wing of small UAVs for efficiently converting the flapping energy of ailerons into electricity for the first time.This research demonstrates this new conceptualizing single h-TENG device’s versatility and viability for broad-range real-world application scenarios.展开更多
Wing flapping and morphing can be very beneficial to managing the weight of micro air vehicles through coupling the aerodynamic forces with stability and control. In this letter, harvesting energy from the wing morphi...Wing flapping and morphing can be very beneficial to managing the weight of micro air vehicles through coupling the aerodynamic forces with stability and control. In this letter, harvesting energy from the wing morphing is studied to power cameras, sensors, or communication devices of micro air vehicles and to aid in the management of their power. The aerodynamic loads on flapping wings are simulated using a three-dimensional unsteady vortex lattice method. Active wing shape morphing is considered to enhance the performance of the flapping motion. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to pinpoint the optimal kinematics maximizing the propellent efficiency. To benefit from the wing deformation, we place piezoelectric layers near the wing roots. Gauss law is used to estimate the electrical harvested power. We demonstrate that enough power can be generated to operate a camera. Numerical analysis shows the feasibility of exploiting wing morphing to harvest energy and improving the design and performance of micro air vehicles.展开更多
In this paper, we investigate the role of morphing on flight dynamics of two birds by simulating the flow over rigid and morphing wings that have the characteristics of two different birds, namely the Giant Petrel and...In this paper, we investigate the role of morphing on flight dynamics of two birds by simulating the flow over rigid and morphing wings that have the characteristics of two different birds, namely the Giant Petrel and Dove Prion. The simulation of a flapping rigid wing shows that the root of the wing should be placed at a specific angle of attack in order to generate enough lift to balance the weight of the bird. However, in this case the generated thrust is either very small, or even negative, depending on the wing shape. Further, results show that morphing of the wing enables a significant increase in the thrust and propulsive efficiency. This indicates that the birds actually utilize some sort of active wing twisting and bending to produce enough thrust. This study should facilitate better guidance for the design of flapping air vehicles.展开更多
A type of skin structure which is made by a Circular Arc Corrugated Style Fiber Reinforced Composite (CACSFRC) is proposed to meet the requirements of the large and continuous deformation and high load capacity of a...A type of skin structure which is made by a Circular Arc Corrugated Style Fiber Reinforced Composite (CACSFRC) is proposed to meet the requirements of the large and continuous deformation and high load capacity of a morphing wing skin. A mechanical model is developed to predict the tensile deformation properties and equiva- lent elastic modulus of the composite skin. Corrugated and plane skin samples are manufactured and tested. The theoretical analysis and tension tests show that CCSFRC skin has markedly much more tensile deforming capability than plane skin in the range of elasticity. The quantity of tensile deformation is in direct proportion to the number of ripples, and in inverse proportion to the cubic of ratio thickness, while the equivalent elastic modulus is in direct proportion to the cubic of ratio thickness approximately. Experiments prove that the predicted theoretical models are reliable and effective.展开更多
Morphing wing has attracted many research attention and effort in aircraft technology development because of its advantage in lift to draft ratio and flight performance.Morphing wing technology combines the lift and c...Morphing wing has attracted many research attention and effort in aircraft technology development because of its advantage in lift to draft ratio and flight performance.Morphing wing technology combines the lift and control surfaces into a seamless wing and integrates the primary structure together with the internal control system.It makes use of the wing aeroelastic deformation induced by the control surface to gain direct force control through desirable redistribution of aerodynamic forces.However some unknown mechanical parameters of the control system and complexity of the integrated structure become a main challenge for dynamic modeling of morphing wing.To solve the problem,a method of test data based modal sensitivity analysis is presented to improve the morphing wing FE model by evaluating the unknown parameters and identifying the modeling boundary conditions.An innovative seamless morphing wing with the structure integrated with a flexible trailing edge control system is presented for the investigation.An experimental model of actuation system driven by a servo motor for the morphing wing is designed and established.By performing a vibration test and the proposed modal sensitivity analysis,the unknown torsional stiffness of the servo motor and the boundary condition of the actuation mechanism model is identified and evaluated.Comparing with the test data,the average error of the first four modal frequency of the improved FE model is reduced significantly to less than 4%.To further investigate the morphing wing modeling,a wing box and then a whole morphing wing model including the skin and integrated with the trailing edge actuation system are established and tested.By using the proposed method,the FE model is improved by relaxing the constraint between the skin and actuation mechanism.The results show that the average error of the first three modal frequency of the improved FE model is reduced to less than 6%.The research results demonstrate that the presented seamless morphing wing integrated with a flexible trailing edge control surface can improve aerodynamic characteristics.By using the test data based modal sensitivity analysis method,the unknown parameter and boundary condition of the actuation model can be determined to improve the FE model.The problem in dynamic modeling of high accuracy for a morphing wing can be solved in an effective manner.展开更多
An efficient design method is proposed for the cooperative control problem of morphing wing systems with distributed structures and bounded control inputs. The multi-agent model of the distributed morphing wing system...An efficient design method is proposed for the cooperative control problem of morphing wing systems with distributed structures and bounded control inputs. The multi-agent model of the distributed morphing wing system is established. The cooperative controllers with saturation constraints are presented. By introducing the concepts in consensus algorithms, the cooperative information links in the controllers are described by graphs, and the corresponding Laplacian matrix is defined. The design conditions of the cooperative controllers are proposed, in the form of linear matrix inequalities. For the case of undirected information links, the controller design conditions are simplified as algebraic inequalities, which highly reduce the computation cost. The designed controllers are implemented on a distributed morphing wing platform, and experiments are carried out. Simulation and experiment results show that the controllers can make all the actuating units in the morphing wing system cooperatively achieve the desired positions, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed theory.展开更多
This paper presents a new particle swarm optimization( PSO) algorithm to optimize the trajectory of morphing-wing missile so as to achieve the enlargement of the maximum range. Equations of motion for the twodimension...This paper presents a new particle swarm optimization( PSO) algorithm to optimize the trajectory of morphing-wing missile so as to achieve the enlargement of the maximum range. Equations of motion for the twodimensional dynamics are derived by treating the missile as an ideal controllable mass point. An investigation of aerodynamic characteristics of morphing-wing missile with varying geometries is performed. After deducing the optimizing trajectory model for maximizing range,a type of discrete method is put forward for taking optimization control problem into nonlinear dynamic programming problem. The optimal trajectory is solved by using PSO algorithm and penalty function method. The simulation results suggest that morphing-wing missile has the larger range than the fixed-shape missile when launched at supersonic speed,while morphing-wing missile has no obvious range increment than the fixed-shape missile at subsonic speed.展开更多
The multi-body flexible morphing airfoil can improve the aerodynamic characteristics based on different flight missions continuously.Recently researches have focused on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of flex...The multi-body flexible morphing airfoil can improve the aerodynamic characteristics based on different flight missions continuously.Recently researches have focused on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of flexible wings under passive actuation.However,the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics with the fluid-structure interaction effects in the multi-body active actuation process of morphing airfoil deserve further investigation.In this paper,a fluid-structure coupled simulation method for multi-body flexible morphing airfoil with active actuation subsystem was investigated,and the aerodynamic characteristics during deformation were compared with different skin flexibility,flow field environment,actuation mode and actuation time.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the skin flexibility can improve the stability efficiency.In the unsteady process,the change trend of the transient lift coefficient and pitching moment are consistent with those of the active drive characteristics,while the instantaneous lift-drag ratio coefficient is greatly affected by the driving mode and can be improved by increasing the driving duration.展开更多
Climate warming and the increased demand in air travels motivate the aviation industry to urgently produce technological innovations.One of the most promising innovations is based on the smoothly continuous morphing l...Climate warming and the increased demand in air travels motivate the aviation industry to urgently produce technological innovations.One of the most promising innovations is based on the smoothly continuous morphing leading-edge concept.This study proposes a two-step process for the design of a morphing leading-edge,including the optimization of the outer variable-thickness composite compliant skin and the optimization of the inner kinematic mechanism.For the compliant skin design,an optimization of the variable thickness composite skin is proposed based on a laminate continuity model,with laminate continuity constraint and other manufacturing constraints.The laminate continuity model utilizes a guiding sequence and a ply-drop sequence to describe the overall stacking sequence of plies in different thickness regions of the complaint skin.For the inner kinematic mechanism design,a coupled four-bar linkage system is proposed and optimized to produce specific trajectories at the actuation points on the stringer hats of the compliant skin,which ensures that the compliant skin can be deflected into the aerodynamically optimal profile.Finally,a morphing leading-edge is manufactured and tested.Experimental results are compared with numerical predictions,confirming the feasibility of the morphing leading-edge concept and the overall proposed design approach.展开更多
Small and micro unmanned aircraft are the focus of scientific interest due to their wide range of applications.They often operate in a highly unstable flight environment where the application of new morphing wing tech...Small and micro unmanned aircraft are the focus of scientific interest due to their wide range of applications.They often operate in a highly unstable flight environment where the application of new morphing wing technologies offers the opportunity to improve flight characteristics.The investigated concept comprises port and starboard adjustable wings,and an adaptive elastoflexible membrane serves as the lifting surface.The focus is on the benefits of the deforming membrane during the impact of a one-minus-cosine type gust.At a low Reynolds number of Re=264000,the morphing wing model is investigated numerically by unsteady fluid-structure interaction simulations.First,the numerical results are validated by experimental data from force and moment,flow field,and deformation measurements.Second,with the rigid wing as the baseline,the flexible case is investigated,focusing on the advantages of the elastic membrane.For all configurations studied,the maximum amplitude of the lift coefficient under gust load shows good agreement between the experimental and numerical results.During the decay of the gust,they differ more the higher the aspect ratio of the wing.When considering the flow field,the main differences are due to the separation behavior on the upper side of the wing.The flow reattaches earlier in the experiments than in the simulations,which explains the higher lift values observed in the former.Only at one intermediate configuration does the lift amplitude of the rigid configuration exceeds that of the flexible by about 12%,with the elastic membrane resulting in a smaller and more uniform peak load,which is also evident in the wing loading and hence in the root bending moment.展开更多
A newly recorded species Smilothrips productus Bhatti, 1976 (Thripidae: Thripinae), collected on sedges from Sichuan is described and illustrated using SEM. This is also the first report of a member of the genus Sm...A newly recorded species Smilothrips productus Bhatti, 1976 (Thripidae: Thripinae), collected on sedges from Sichuan is described and illustrated using SEM. This is also the first report of a member of the genus Smilothrips in China. Larvae and two different wing morphs of the species (micropterous and brachypterous) are also described for the first time herein.展开更多
Adaptive,morphing flaps are taking ever-increasing attention in civil aviation thanks to the expected benefits this technology can bring at the aircraft level in terms of high-lift performance improvement and related ...Adaptive,morphing flaps are taking ever-increasing attention in civil aviation thanks to the expected benefits this technology can bring at the aircraft level in terms of high-lift performance improvement and related fuel burnt reduction per flight.Relying upon morphing capabilities,it is possible to fix a unique setting for the flap and adapt the flap shape to match the aerodynamic requirements for take-off or landing.The proper morphed shapes can assure better high-lift performances than those achievable by referring to a conventional flap.Moreover,standing the unique flap setting for take-off and landing,a dramatic simplification of the flap deployment systems may be achieved.As a consequence of this simplification,the deployment system can be fully hosted in the wing,thus avoiding under-wing nacelles with significantly better aerodynamics and fuel consumption.The first step for a rational design of an adaptive flap consists in defining the target morphed shapes and the unique optimal flap setting in the take-off and landing phases.In this work,aerodynamic optimization analyses are carried out to determine the best flap setting and related morphed shapes in compliance with the take-off and landing requirements of a reference civil transport aircraft.Four different initial conditions are adopted to avoid the optimization falling into local optima,thus obtaining four groups of optimal candidate configurations.After comparing each candidate’s performance through 2D and 3D simulations,the optimal configuration has been selected.2D simulations show that the optimal configuration is characterized by a maximum lift increase of 31.92%in take-off and 9.04%in landing.According to 3D simulations,the rise in maximum lift equals 22.26%in take-off and 3.50%in landing.Numerical results are finally verified through wind tunnel tests,and the aerodynamic mechanism behind the obtained improvements is explained by carefully analyzing the flow field around the flap.展开更多
Birds and bats retract and stretch their wings dynamically during each flap in level flights, implying intriguing mechanisms for the aerodynamic performance improvement of flapping wings. A numerical investigation int...Birds and bats retract and stretch their wings dynamically during each flap in level flights, implying intriguing mechanisms for the aerodynamic performance improvement of flapping wings. A numerical investigation into the aerodynamic effects of such bio-inspired concept in forward flights has been performed based on a three-dimensional wing in plunging motion and a twosection wing in flapping motion. The currently considered Reynolds number and Strouhal number are Re=1.5×10^(5) and St=0.3, respectively. During the research, the mean angle of attack is varied in relatively wide ranges to achieve lift-thrust interconversion for the wings. The conclusive results show that dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch has induced three absolutely desirable scenarios for the oscillating wings in forward flights, namely producing more lift and consuming less power for a given thrust generation, producing more thrust and consuming less power for a given lift generation, and producing more lift and more thrust while consuming less power. Furthermore,the morphing wings have alleviated periodical aerodynamic load fluctuations compared with the non-morphing baseline. The mechanism of the aerodynamic effects of the bionic morphing mode is analyzed with the aid of field visualization. The current article is the first to reveal the absolute advantages of the bionic spanwise morphing. Hopefully, it may help comprehend the behaviors of natural fliers and provide inspirations for performance enhancement of micro artificial flappingwing vehicles.展开更多
The morphing wing can improve the flight performance during different phases.However,research has been subject to limitations in aerodynamic characteristics of the morphing wing with a flexible leading-edge.The comput...The morphing wing can improve the flight performance during different phases.However,research has been subject to limitations in aerodynamic characteristics of the morphing wing with a flexible leading-edge.The computational fluid dynamic method and dynamic mesh were used to simulate the continuous morphing of the flexible leading-edge.After comparing the steady aerodynamic characteristics of morphing and conventional wings,this study examined the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of morphing wings with upward and downward deflections of the leading-edge at different frequencies.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the leading-edge deflection mainly affects the stall characteristic.The downward deflection of the leading-edge increases the stall angle of attack and nose-down pitching moment.The results are opposite for the upward deflection.For the unsteady aerodynamic,at a small angle of attack,the transient lift coefficient of the upward deflection,growing with the increase of deflection frequency,is larger than that of the static case.The transient lift coefficient of the downward deflection,decreasing with the increase of deflection frequency,is smaller than that of the static case.However,at a large angle of attack,an opposite effect of deflection frequency on the transient lift coefficient was demonstrated.The transient lift coefficient is larger than that of the static case when the leading edge is in the nose-up stage,and lower than that of the static one in the nose-down stage.展开更多
In this paper, an ‘in-house' genetic algorithm is described and applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircraft wing tip through upper surface morphing. The algorithm's ...In this paper, an ‘in-house' genetic algorithm is described and applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircraft wing tip through upper surface morphing. The algorithm's performances were studied from the convergence point of view, in accordance with design conditions. The algorithm was compared to two other optimization methods,namely the artificial bee colony and a gradient method, for two optimization objectives, and the results of the optimizations with each of the three methods were plotted on response surfaces obtained with the Monte Carlo method, to show that they were situated in the global optimum region. The optimization results for 16 wind tunnel test cases and 2 objective functions were presented. The 16 cases used for the optimizations were included in the experimental test plan for the morphing wing-tip demonstrator, and the results obtained using the displacements given by the optimizations were evaluated.展开更多
In the present paper, an ‘in-house' genetic algorithm was numerically and experimentally validated. The genetic algorithm was applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircr...In the present paper, an ‘in-house' genetic algorithm was numerically and experimentally validated. The genetic algorithm was applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircraft wing tip through upper surface morphing. The optimization was performed for 16 flight cases expressed in terms of various combinations of speeds, angles of attack and aileron deflections. The displacements resulted from the optimization were used during the wind tunnel tests of the wing tip demonstrator for the actuators control to change the upper surface shape of the wing. The results of the optimization of the flow behavior for the airfoil morphing upper-surface problem were validated with wind tunnel experimental transition results obtained with infra-red Thermography on the wing-tip demonstrator. The validation proved that the 2D numerical optimization using the ‘in-house' genetic algorithm was an appropriate tool in improving various aspects of a wing's aerodynamic performances.展开更多
Abstract Morphing wing structures are widely considered among the most promising technologies for the improvement of aerodynamic performances in large civil aircraft.The controlled adaptation of the wing shape to exte...Abstract Morphing wing structures are widely considered among the most promising technologies for the improvement of aerodynamic performances in large civil aircraft.The controlled adaptation of the wing shape to external operative conditions naturally enables the maximization of aircraft aerodynamic efficiency,with positive fallouts on the amount of fuel burned and pollutant emissions.The benefits brought by morphing wings at aircraft level are accompanied by the criticalities of the enabling technologies,mainly involving weight penalties,overconsumption of electrical power,and safety issues.The attempt to solve such criticalities passes through the development of novel design approaches,ensuring the consolidation of reliable structural solutions that are adequately mature for certification and in-flight operations.In this work,the development phases of a multimodal camber morphing wing flap,tailored for large civil aircraft applications,are outlined with specific reference to the activities addressed by the author in the framework of the Clean Sky program.The flap is morphed according to target shapes depending on aircraft flight conditions and defined to enhance high-lift performances during takeoff and landing,as well as wing aerodynamic efficiency during cruise.An innovative system based on finger-like robotic ribs driven by electromechanical actuators is proposed as morphing-enabling technology;the maturation process of the device is then traced from the proof of concept to the consolidation of a true-scale demonstrator for pre-flight ground validation tests.A step-by-step approach involving the design and testing of intermediate demonstrators is then carried out to show the compliance of the adaptive system with industrial standards and safety requirements.The technical issues encountered during the development of each intermediate demonstrator are critically analyzed,and justifications are provided for all the adopted engineering solutions.Finally,the layout of the true-scale demonstrator is presented,with emphasis on the architectural strengths,enabling the forthcoming validation in real operative conditions.展开更多
Smart morphing wing, which is equipped with smart materials and able to change structural geometry adaptively, can further improve aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft. This paper presents a new integrated layout and to...Smart morphing wing, which is equipped with smart materials and able to change structural geometry adaptively, can further improve aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft. This paper presents a new integrated layout and topology optimization design for morphing wing driven by shape memory alloys(SMAs). By simultaneously optimizing the layout of smart actuators and topology of wing substrate, the ultimately determined configuration can achieve smooth, continuous and accurate geometric shape changes. In addition, aerodynamic analysis is carried out to compare smart morphing wing with traditional hinged airfoil. Finally, the optimized smart wing structure is constructed and tested to demonstrate and verify the morphing functionality. Application setbacks are also pointed out for further investigation.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (90605007)
文摘To investigate the control of morphing wings by means of interacting effectors,this article proposes a distributed coordinated control scheme with sampled communication on the basis of a simple morphing wing model,established with arrayed agents. The control scheme can change the shape of airfoil into an expected one and keep it smooth during morphing. As the interconnection of communication network and the agents would make the behavior of the morphing wing system complicated,a diagrammatic stability analysis method is put forward to ensure the system stability. Two simulations are carried out on the morphing wing system by using MATLAB. The results stand witness to the feasibility of the distributed coordinated control scheme and the effectiveness of the diagrammatic stability analysis method.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52175279,52075489,and 51705459)the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province,China(Grant Nos.LY20E050022 and LGG20E050017)。
文摘Raptors are getting more attention from researchers because of their excellent flight abilities.And the excellent wing morphing ability is critical for raptors to achieve high maneuvering flight,which can be a good bionic inspiration for unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV)design.However,morphing wing motions of Falco peregrinus with multi postures cannot be consulted since such a motion database was nonexistent.This study aimed to provide data reference for future research in wing morphing kinetics.We used the computed tomography(CT)approach to obtain nine critical postures of the Falco peregrinus wing skeleton,followed with motion analysis of each joint and bone.Based on the obtained motion database,a six-bar kinematic model was proposed to regenerate wing motions with a high fidelity.
基金This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant(Nos.51705429&61801525)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,Guangdong Natural Science Funds Grant(2018A030313400)+1 种基金Space Science and Technology Foundation,111 Project No.B13044UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC)for support under grant EP/P018998/1,Newton Mobility Grant(IE161019)through Royal Society.
文摘Flexible,compact,lightweight and sustainable power sources are indispensable for modern wearable and personal electronics and small-unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs).Hierarchical honeycomb has the unique merits of compact mesostructures,excellent energy absorption properties and considerable weight to strength ratios.Herein,a honeycomb-inspired triboelectric nanogenerator(h-TENG)is proposed for biomechanical and UAV morphing wing energy harvesting based on contact triboelectrification wavy surface of cellular honeycomb structure.The wavy surface comprises a multilayered thin film structure(combining polyethylene terephthalate,silver nanowires and fluorinated ethylene propylene)fabricated through high-temperature thermoplastic molding and wafer-level bonding process.With superior synchronization of large amounts of energy generation units with honeycomb cells,the manufactured h-TENG prototype produces the maximum instantaneous open-circuit voltage,short-circuit current and output power of 1207 V,68.5μA and 12.4 mW,respectively,corresponding to a remarkable peak power density of 0.275 mW cm^(−3)(or 2.48 mW g^(−1))under hand pressing excitations.Attributed to the excellent elastic property of self-rebounding honeycomb structure,the flexible and transparent h-TENG can be easily pressed,bent and integrated into shoes for real-time insole plantar pressure mapping.The lightweight and compact h-TENG is further installed into a morphing wing of small UAVs for efficiently converting the flapping energy of ailerons into electricity for the first time.This research demonstrates this new conceptualizing single h-TENG device’s versatility and viability for broad-range real-world application scenarios.
文摘Wing flapping and morphing can be very beneficial to managing the weight of micro air vehicles through coupling the aerodynamic forces with stability and control. In this letter, harvesting energy from the wing morphing is studied to power cameras, sensors, or communication devices of micro air vehicles and to aid in the management of their power. The aerodynamic loads on flapping wings are simulated using a three-dimensional unsteady vortex lattice method. Active wing shape morphing is considered to enhance the performance of the flapping motion. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to pinpoint the optimal kinematics maximizing the propellent efficiency. To benefit from the wing deformation, we place piezoelectric layers near the wing roots. Gauss law is used to estimate the electrical harvested power. We demonstrate that enough power can be generated to operate a camera. Numerical analysis shows the feasibility of exploiting wing morphing to harvest energy and improving the design and performance of micro air vehicles.
文摘In this paper, we investigate the role of morphing on flight dynamics of two birds by simulating the flow over rigid and morphing wings that have the characteristics of two different birds, namely the Giant Petrel and Dove Prion. The simulation of a flapping rigid wing shows that the root of the wing should be placed at a specific angle of attack in order to generate enough lift to balance the weight of the bird. However, in this case the generated thrust is either very small, or even negative, depending on the wing shape. Further, results show that morphing of the wing enables a significant increase in the thrust and propulsive efficiency. This indicates that the birds actually utilize some sort of active wing twisting and bending to produce enough thrust. This study should facilitate better guidance for the design of flapping air vehicles.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.10772081,90605003 and 51075207
文摘A type of skin structure which is made by a Circular Arc Corrugated Style Fiber Reinforced Composite (CACSFRC) is proposed to meet the requirements of the large and continuous deformation and high load capacity of a morphing wing skin. A mechanical model is developed to predict the tensile deformation properties and equiva- lent elastic modulus of the composite skin. Corrugated and plane skin samples are manufactured and tested. The theoretical analysis and tension tests show that CCSFRC skin has markedly much more tensile deforming capability than plane skin in the range of elasticity. The quantity of tensile deformation is in direct proportion to the number of ripples, and in inverse proportion to the cubic of ratio thickness, while the equivalent elastic modulus is in direct proportion to the cubic of ratio thickness approximately. Experiments prove that the predicted theoretical models are reliable and effective.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11102019)
文摘Morphing wing has attracted many research attention and effort in aircraft technology development because of its advantage in lift to draft ratio and flight performance.Morphing wing technology combines the lift and control surfaces into a seamless wing and integrates the primary structure together with the internal control system.It makes use of the wing aeroelastic deformation induced by the control surface to gain direct force control through desirable redistribution of aerodynamic forces.However some unknown mechanical parameters of the control system and complexity of the integrated structure become a main challenge for dynamic modeling of morphing wing.To solve the problem,a method of test data based modal sensitivity analysis is presented to improve the morphing wing FE model by evaluating the unknown parameters and identifying the modeling boundary conditions.An innovative seamless morphing wing with the structure integrated with a flexible trailing edge control system is presented for the investigation.An experimental model of actuation system driven by a servo motor for the morphing wing is designed and established.By performing a vibration test and the proposed modal sensitivity analysis,the unknown torsional stiffness of the servo motor and the boundary condition of the actuation mechanism model is identified and evaluated.Comparing with the test data,the average error of the first four modal frequency of the improved FE model is reduced significantly to less than 4%.To further investigate the morphing wing modeling,a wing box and then a whole morphing wing model including the skin and integrated with the trailing edge actuation system are established and tested.By using the proposed method,the FE model is improved by relaxing the constraint between the skin and actuation mechanism.The results show that the average error of the first three modal frequency of the improved FE model is reduced to less than 6%.The research results demonstrate that the presented seamless morphing wing integrated with a flexible trailing edge control surface can improve aerodynamic characteristics.By using the test data based modal sensitivity analysis method,the unknown parameter and boundary condition of the actuation model can be determined to improve the FE model.The problem in dynamic modeling of high accuracy for a morphing wing can be solved in an effective manner.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (90605007 91016017)
文摘An efficient design method is proposed for the cooperative control problem of morphing wing systems with distributed structures and bounded control inputs. The multi-agent model of the distributed morphing wing system is established. The cooperative controllers with saturation constraints are presented. By introducing the concepts in consensus algorithms, the cooperative information links in the controllers are described by graphs, and the corresponding Laplacian matrix is defined. The design conditions of the cooperative controllers are proposed, in the form of linear matrix inequalities. For the case of undirected information links, the controller design conditions are simplified as algebraic inequalities, which highly reduce the computation cost. The designed controllers are implemented on a distributed morphing wing platform, and experiments are carried out. Simulation and experiment results show that the controllers can make all the actuating units in the morphing wing system cooperatively achieve the desired positions, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed theory.
基金Sponsored by the Natural Science Association Foundation(NSAF)of China(Grant No.11176012)the Research Innovation Project for Graduate Student of Jiangsu-Provincial Ordinary University(Grant No.KLYX15-0394)
文摘This paper presents a new particle swarm optimization( PSO) algorithm to optimize the trajectory of morphing-wing missile so as to achieve the enlargement of the maximum range. Equations of motion for the twodimensional dynamics are derived by treating the missile as an ideal controllable mass point. An investigation of aerodynamic characteristics of morphing-wing missile with varying geometries is performed. After deducing the optimizing trajectory model for maximizing range,a type of discrete method is put forward for taking optimization control problem into nonlinear dynamic programming problem. The optimal trajectory is solved by using PSO algorithm and penalty function method. The simulation results suggest that morphing-wing missile has the larger range than the fixed-shape missile when launched at supersonic speed,while morphing-wing missile has no obvious range increment than the fixed-shape missile at subsonic speed.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52192633,11872293)the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province,China(No.2022JC-03)。
文摘The multi-body flexible morphing airfoil can improve the aerodynamic characteristics based on different flight missions continuously.Recently researches have focused on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of flexible wings under passive actuation.However,the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics with the fluid-structure interaction effects in the multi-body active actuation process of morphing airfoil deserve further investigation.In this paper,a fluid-structure coupled simulation method for multi-body flexible morphing airfoil with active actuation subsystem was investigated,and the aerodynamic characteristics during deformation were compared with different skin flexibility,flow field environment,actuation mode and actuation time.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the skin flexibility can improve the stability efficiency.In the unsteady process,the change trend of the transient lift coefficient and pitching moment are consistent with those of the active drive characteristics,while the instantaneous lift-drag ratio coefficient is greatly affected by the driving mode and can be improved by increasing the driving duration.
基金supported by the National Research Project“Variable CAmber wing TechNology(VCAN)”,China.
文摘Climate warming and the increased demand in air travels motivate the aviation industry to urgently produce technological innovations.One of the most promising innovations is based on the smoothly continuous morphing leading-edge concept.This study proposes a two-step process for the design of a morphing leading-edge,including the optimization of the outer variable-thickness composite compliant skin and the optimization of the inner kinematic mechanism.For the compliant skin design,an optimization of the variable thickness composite skin is proposed based on a laminate continuity model,with laminate continuity constraint and other manufacturing constraints.The laminate continuity model utilizes a guiding sequence and a ply-drop sequence to describe the overall stacking sequence of plies in different thickness regions of the complaint skin.For the inner kinematic mechanism design,a coupled four-bar linkage system is proposed and optimized to produce specific trajectories at the actuation points on the stringer hats of the compliant skin,which ensures that the compliant skin can be deflected into the aerodynamically optimal profile.Finally,a morphing leading-edge is manufactured and tested.Experimental results are compared with numerical predictions,confirming the feasibility of the morphing leading-edge concept and the overall proposed design approach.
基金funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(DFG,German Research Foundation)(No.BR 1511/12-1)。
文摘Small and micro unmanned aircraft are the focus of scientific interest due to their wide range of applications.They often operate in a highly unstable flight environment where the application of new morphing wing technologies offers the opportunity to improve flight characteristics.The investigated concept comprises port and starboard adjustable wings,and an adaptive elastoflexible membrane serves as the lifting surface.The focus is on the benefits of the deforming membrane during the impact of a one-minus-cosine type gust.At a low Reynolds number of Re=264000,the morphing wing model is investigated numerically by unsteady fluid-structure interaction simulations.First,the numerical results are validated by experimental data from force and moment,flow field,and deformation measurements.Second,with the rigid wing as the baseline,the flexible case is investigated,focusing on the advantages of the elastic membrane.For all configurations studied,the maximum amplitude of the lift coefficient under gust load shows good agreement between the experimental and numerical results.During the decay of the gust,they differ more the higher the aspect ratio of the wing.When considering the flow field,the main differences are due to the separation behavior on the upper side of the wing.The flow reattaches earlier in the experiments than in the simulations,which explains the higher lift values observed in the former.Only at one intermediate configuration does the lift amplitude of the rigid configuration exceeds that of the flexible by about 12%,with the elastic membrane resulting in a smaller and more uniform peak load,which is also evident in the wing loading and hence in the root bending moment.
基金supported by the Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest(200803025)
文摘A newly recorded species Smilothrips productus Bhatti, 1976 (Thripidae: Thripinae), collected on sedges from Sichuan is described and illustrated using SEM. This is also the first report of a member of the genus Smilothrips in China. Larvae and two different wing morphs of the species (micropterous and brachypterous) are also described for the first time herein.
基金co-supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12172275, 12090030)the “111” Program, China (No. B18040)
文摘Adaptive,morphing flaps are taking ever-increasing attention in civil aviation thanks to the expected benefits this technology can bring at the aircraft level in terms of high-lift performance improvement and related fuel burnt reduction per flight.Relying upon morphing capabilities,it is possible to fix a unique setting for the flap and adapt the flap shape to match the aerodynamic requirements for take-off or landing.The proper morphed shapes can assure better high-lift performances than those achievable by referring to a conventional flap.Moreover,standing the unique flap setting for take-off and landing,a dramatic simplification of the flap deployment systems may be achieved.As a consequence of this simplification,the deployment system can be fully hosted in the wing,thus avoiding under-wing nacelles with significantly better aerodynamics and fuel consumption.The first step for a rational design of an adaptive flap consists in defining the target morphed shapes and the unique optimal flap setting in the take-off and landing phases.In this work,aerodynamic optimization analyses are carried out to determine the best flap setting and related morphed shapes in compliance with the take-off and landing requirements of a reference civil transport aircraft.Four different initial conditions are adopted to avoid the optimization falling into local optima,thus obtaining four groups of optimal candidate configurations.After comparing each candidate’s performance through 2D and 3D simulations,the optimal configuration has been selected.2D simulations show that the optimal configuration is characterized by a maximum lift increase of 31.92%in take-off and 9.04%in landing.According to 3D simulations,the rise in maximum lift equals 22.26%in take-off and 3.50%in landing.Numerical results are finally verified through wind tunnel tests,and the aerodynamic mechanism behind the obtained improvements is explained by carefully analyzing the flow field around the flap.
基金mainly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52175277, 52275293)Resources provided by the Basic Research Program of Shenzhen, China (No. JCYJ 20190806142816524)the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China (No. 2023A1515010774)。
文摘Birds and bats retract and stretch their wings dynamically during each flap in level flights, implying intriguing mechanisms for the aerodynamic performance improvement of flapping wings. A numerical investigation into the aerodynamic effects of such bio-inspired concept in forward flights has been performed based on a three-dimensional wing in plunging motion and a twosection wing in flapping motion. The currently considered Reynolds number and Strouhal number are Re=1.5×10^(5) and St=0.3, respectively. During the research, the mean angle of attack is varied in relatively wide ranges to achieve lift-thrust interconversion for the wings. The conclusive results show that dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch has induced three absolutely desirable scenarios for the oscillating wings in forward flights, namely producing more lift and consuming less power for a given thrust generation, producing more thrust and consuming less power for a given lift generation, and producing more lift and more thrust while consuming less power. Furthermore,the morphing wings have alleviated periodical aerodynamic load fluctuations compared with the non-morphing baseline. The mechanism of the aerodynamic effects of the bionic morphing mode is analyzed with the aid of field visualization. The current article is the first to reveal the absolute advantages of the bionic spanwise morphing. Hopefully, it may help comprehend the behaviors of natural fliers and provide inspirations for performance enhancement of micro artificial flappingwing vehicles.
基金the Beijing Advanced Discipline Center for Unmanned Aircraft System。
文摘The morphing wing can improve the flight performance during different phases.However,research has been subject to limitations in aerodynamic characteristics of the morphing wing with a flexible leading-edge.The computational fluid dynamic method and dynamic mesh were used to simulate the continuous morphing of the flexible leading-edge.After comparing the steady aerodynamic characteristics of morphing and conventional wings,this study examined the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of morphing wings with upward and downward deflections of the leading-edge at different frequencies.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the leading-edge deflection mainly affects the stall characteristic.The downward deflection of the leading-edge increases the stall angle of attack and nose-down pitching moment.The results are opposite for the upward deflection.For the unsteady aerodynamic,at a small angle of attack,the transient lift coefficient of the upward deflection,growing with the increase of deflection frequency,is larger than that of the static case.The transient lift coefficient of the downward deflection,decreasing with the increase of deflection frequency,is smaller than that of the static case.However,at a large angle of attack,an opposite effect of deflection frequency on the transient lift coefficient was demonstrated.The transient lift coefficient is larger than that of the static case when the leading edge is in the nose-up stage,and lower than that of the static one in the nose-down stage.
基金the Consortium in Research and Aerospace in Canada (CRIAQ)the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for their financial support
文摘In this paper, an ‘in-house' genetic algorithm is described and applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircraft wing tip through upper surface morphing. The algorithm's performances were studied from the convergence point of view, in accordance with design conditions. The algorithm was compared to two other optimization methods,namely the artificial bee colony and a gradient method, for two optimization objectives, and the results of the optimizations with each of the three methods were plotted on response surfaces obtained with the Monte Carlo method, to show that they were situated in the global optimum region. The optimization results for 16 wind tunnel test cases and 2 objective functions were presented. The 16 cases used for the optimizations were included in the experimental test plan for the morphing wing-tip demonstrator, and the results obtained using the displacements given by the optimizations were evaluated.
基金Bombardier Aerospace,Thales Canada,The Consortium in Research and Aerospace in Canada(CRIAQ)the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada(NSERC)for their financial support
文摘In the present paper, an ‘in-house' genetic algorithm was numerically and experimentally validated. The genetic algorithm was applied to an optimization problem for improving the aerodynamic performances of an aircraft wing tip through upper surface morphing. The optimization was performed for 16 flight cases expressed in terms of various combinations of speeds, angles of attack and aileron deflections. The displacements resulted from the optimization were used during the wind tunnel tests of the wing tip demonstrator for the actuators control to change the upper surface shape of the wing. The results of the optimization of the flow behavior for the airfoil morphing upper-surface problem were validated with wind tunnel experimental transition results obtained with infra-red Thermography on the wing-tip demonstrator. The validation proved that the 2D numerical optimization using the ‘in-house' genetic algorithm was an appropriate tool in improving various aspects of a wing's aerodynamic performances.
基金The researches described in this paper have been carried out in the framework of the Clean Sky Green Regional Aircraft ITD(Low Noise Configuration Domain)and Airgreen2 projectsThe activities have gratefully received funding respectively from the Cleans Sky and the Clean Sly 2 Joint Undertaking,under the European Union FP7 and H2020 research and innovation programs,Grant Agreements No.CSJU-GAM-GRA-2008-001 and No.807089—REG GAM 2018—H2020-IBA-CS2-GAMS-2017.
文摘Abstract Morphing wing structures are widely considered among the most promising technologies for the improvement of aerodynamic performances in large civil aircraft.The controlled adaptation of the wing shape to external operative conditions naturally enables the maximization of aircraft aerodynamic efficiency,with positive fallouts on the amount of fuel burned and pollutant emissions.The benefits brought by morphing wings at aircraft level are accompanied by the criticalities of the enabling technologies,mainly involving weight penalties,overconsumption of electrical power,and safety issues.The attempt to solve such criticalities passes through the development of novel design approaches,ensuring the consolidation of reliable structural solutions that are adequately mature for certification and in-flight operations.In this work,the development phases of a multimodal camber morphing wing flap,tailored for large civil aircraft applications,are outlined with specific reference to the activities addressed by the author in the framework of the Clean Sky program.The flap is morphed according to target shapes depending on aircraft flight conditions and defined to enhance high-lift performances during takeoff and landing,as well as wing aerodynamic efficiency during cruise.An innovative system based on finger-like robotic ribs driven by electromechanical actuators is proposed as morphing-enabling technology;the maturation process of the device is then traced from the proof of concept to the consolidation of a true-scale demonstrator for pre-flight ground validation tests.A step-by-step approach involving the design and testing of intermediate demonstrators is then carried out to show the compliance of the adaptive system with industrial standards and safety requirements.The technical issues encountered during the development of each intermediate demonstrator are critically analyzed,and justifications are provided for all the adopted engineering solutions.Finally,the layout of the true-scale demonstrator is presented,with emphasis on the architectural strengths,enabling the forthcoming validation in real operative conditions.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11802243 and 11902258)Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (No. 2019JQ-176)+1 种基金Key Project of NSFC (Nos. 51790171, 51761145111 and 51735005)NSFC for Excellent Young Scholars (No. 11722219)。
文摘Smart morphing wing, which is equipped with smart materials and able to change structural geometry adaptively, can further improve aerodynamic efficiency of aircraft. This paper presents a new integrated layout and topology optimization design for morphing wing driven by shape memory alloys(SMAs). By simultaneously optimizing the layout of smart actuators and topology of wing substrate, the ultimately determined configuration can achieve smooth, continuous and accurate geometric shape changes. In addition, aerodynamic analysis is carried out to compare smart morphing wing with traditional hinged airfoil. Finally, the optimized smart wing structure is constructed and tested to demonstrate and verify the morphing functionality. Application setbacks are also pointed out for further investigation.