Optimum stacking sequence design of composite materials Part II: Variable stiffness design

Morphing structures suitable for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been investigated for several years. This paper presents a novel lightweight, morphing concept based on the exploitation of the “lever effect” of a bistable composite plate that can be integrated in an UAV horizontal tail. Flight dynamics equations are solved in Simulink environment, thus being able to simulate and compare different flight conditions with conventional and bistable command surfaces. Subsequently, bistable plates are built by using composite materials, paying particular attention to dimensions, asymmetric stacking sequence and total thickness needed to achieve bistability. NACA0011 airfoil is chosen for proving this concept. Wind tunnel tests demonstrate that the discrete surface is capable of withstanding the aerodynamic pressure. A remotely piloted vehicle is employed to test the discrete horizontal tail command during the take-off. The results show that, choosing a proper configuration of constraints, stacking sequence and aspect ratio for the bistable laminate, it is possible to tailor the snap-through mechanism. The proposed concept appears lighter and increases aerodynamic efficiency when compared to conventional UAV command surfaces.

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Structural Analysis of Variable Stiffness Laminated Plates Using First-Order Shear Deformation Theory

Volume 1: Advances in Aerospace Technology ◽

10.1115/imece2014-39092 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

A. H. Akbarzadeh ◽

M. Arian Nik ◽

D. Pasini

Keyword(s):

Transverse Shear ◽

Deformation Theory ◽

Shear Deformation Theory ◽

Variable Stiffness ◽

Buckling Load ◽

Shear Stresses ◽

Critical Buckling Load ◽

First Order ◽

Stiffness Design ◽

Transverse Shear Stresses

Constant and variable stiffness strategies have been developed to design a composite laminate. With the former, each layer is designed with straight fibers that have the highest stiffness and strength in the fiber direction. With the latter, on the other hand, the stiffness can change within each layer by placing the fibers along a curvilinear fiber path. A variable stiffness design results in improved structural performance, as well as opens up opportunities to search for trade-off among structural properties. During the manufacture of a variable stiffness design with Automated Fiber Placement, certain defects in the form of gaps and overlaps could appear within the laminate and affect the laminate performance. In this study, we use the first-order shear deformation theory to assess the effect of transverse shear stresses on the critical buckling load, free and forced vibration of a variable stiffness laminate with embedded defects, an issue so far rarely examined in literature. The governing differential equations for the static analysis are first derived. A semi-analytic solution is then obtained using the hybrid Fourier-Galerkin method and the numeric time integration technique. The eigenvalue analysis is also conducted to determine the fundamental frequency and critical buckling load of the plate. It is found that the behavior of a variable stiffness plate is much more affected by the shear stresses than a constant stiffness plate. Ignoring the effect of transverse shear stresses results in 34% error in the predicted buckling load of a variable stiffness laminate with overlaps and a length-to-thickness ratio of 10.

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