Numerical Optimization and Experimental Testing of a Morphing Wing with Aileron System

This paper presents a study on trailing edge deflection estimation for the SmartX camber morphing wing demonstrator. This demonstrator integrates the technologies of smart sensing, smart actuation and smart controls using a six module distributed morphing concept. The morphing sequence is brought about by two actuators present at both ends of each of the morphing modules. The deflection estimation is carried out by interrogating optical fibers that are bonded on to the wing’s inner surface. A novel application is demonstrated using this method that utilizes the least amount of sensors for load monitoring purposes. The fiber optic sensor data is used to measure the deflections of the modules in the wind tunnel using a multi-modal fiber optic sensing approach and is compared to the deflections estimated by the actuators. Each module is probed by single-mode optical fibers that contain just four grating sensors and consider both bending and torsional deformations. The fiber optic method in this work combines the principles of hybrid interferometry and FBG spectral sensing. The analysis involves an initial calibration procedure outside the wind tunnel followed by experimental testing in the wind tunnel. This method is shown to experimentally achieve an accuracy of 2.8 mm deflection with an error of 9%. The error sources, including actuator dynamics, random errors, and nonlinear mechanical backlash, are identified and discussed.

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Novel morphing wing actuator control-based Particle Swarm Optimisation

The Aeronautical Journal ◽

10.1017/aer.2019.114 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 124 (1271) ◽

pp. 55-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S. Khan ◽

T. L. Grigorie ◽

R. M. Botez ◽

M. Mamou ◽

Y. Mébarki

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Wind Tunnel ◽

Experimental Model ◽

Experimental Testing ◽

Pressure Sensors ◽

Particle Swarm ◽

Particle Swarm Optimisation ◽

Morphing Wing ◽

Software Model ◽

Actuation System

AbstractThe paper presents the design and experimental testing of the control system used in a new morphing wing application with a full-scaled portion of a real wing. The morphing actuation system uses four similar miniature brushless DC (BLDC) motors placed inside the wing, which execute a direct actuation of the flexible upper surface of the wing made from composite materials. The control system of each actuator uses three control loops (current, speed and position) characterised by five control gains. To tune the control gains, the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) method is used. The application of the PSO method supposed the development of a MATLAB/Simulink® software model for the controlled actuator, which worked together with a software sub-routine implementing the PSO algorithm to find the best values for the five control gains that minimise the cost function. Once the best values of the control gains are established, the software model of the controlled actuator is numerically simulated in order to evaluate the quality of the obtained control system. Finally, the designed control system is experimentally validated in bench tests and wind-tunnel tests for all four miniature actuators integrated in the morphing wing experimental model. The wind-tunnel testing treats the system as a whole and includes, besides the evaluation of the controlled actuation system, the testing of the integrated morphing wing experimental model and the evaluation of the aerodynamic benefits brought by the morphing technology on this project. From this last perspective, the airflow on the morphing upper surface of the experimental model is monitored by using various techniques based on pressure data collection with Kulite pressure sensors or on infrared thermography camera visualisations.

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Numerical optimization of the S4 Éhecatl UAS airfoil using a morphing wing approach

32nd AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference ◽

10.2514/6.2014-2274 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Sugar Gabor Oliviu ◽

Antoine Simon ◽

Andreea Koreanschi ◽

Ruxandra M. Botez

Keyword(s):

Numerical Optimization ◽

Morphing Wing

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Fuzzy Logic-Based Control for a Morphing Wing Tip Actuation System: Design, Numerical Simulation, and Wind Tunnel Experimental Testing

Biomimetics ◽

10.3390/biomimetics4040065 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 65

Author(s):

Khan ◽

Grigorie ◽

Botez ◽

Mamou ◽

Mébarki

Keyword(s):

Numerical Simulation ◽

Fuzzy Logic ◽

Wind Tunnel ◽

Experimental Testing ◽

Aviation Industry ◽

Morphing Wing ◽

Brushless Dc ◽

Wing Model ◽

Actuation System ◽

Prime Concern

The paper presents the design, numerical simulation, and wind tunnel experimental testing of a fuzzy logic-based control system for a new morphing wing actuation system equipped with Brushless DC (BLDC) motors, under the framework of an international project between Canada and Italy. Morphing wing is a prime concern of the aviation industry and, due to the promising results, it can improve fuel optimization. In this idea, a major international morphing wing project has been carried out by our university team from Canada, in collaboration with industrial, research, and university entities from our country, but also from Italy, by using a full-scaled portion of a real aircraft wing equipped with an aileron. The target was to conceive, manufacture, and test an experimental wing model able to be morphed in a controlled manner and to provide in this way an extension of the laminar airflow region over its upper surface, producing a drag reduction with direct impact on the fuel consumption economy. The work presented in the paper aims to describe how the experimental model has been developed, controlled, and tested, to prove the feasibility of the morphing wing technology for the next generation of aircraft.

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Experimental Testing, Modeling, and Simulation of 3D Printed Composite Material for Morphing Wing Application

10.32393/csme.2020.1215 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rebecca Rajs ◽

Marc Palardy-Sim ◽

Guillaume Renaud ◽

Michael Jakubinek ◽

Farjad Shadmehri

Keyword(s):

Composite Material ◽

Modeling And Simulation ◽

Experimental Testing ◽

Morphing Wing ◽

3D Printed

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Experimental and numerical optimization study of shock wave damping in aluminum panel sandwich

Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale ◽

10.3221/igf-esis.55.07 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (55) ◽

pp. 88-109

Author(s):

Masoud Rahmani ◽

Amin Moslemi Petrudi

Keyword(s):

Shock Wave ◽

Numerical Optimization ◽

Aluminum Foam ◽

Experimental Testing ◽

Weight Ratio ◽

High Strength ◽

Shock Propagation ◽

Wave Damping ◽

Optimization Study ◽

Porous Grains

Sandwich panels with polymer composite and light core composites are widely used in aircraft and spacecraft, vessels, trains, submarines, and cars. Due to their high strength to weight ratio, high stability, and high corrosion resistance, these structures have become particularly important in the industry. Reduction in impact energy, shock waves, and noise in many industries, including the automotive and military industries. Porous materials have always been the focus of attention due to their shock-reducing effects in various protective applications. For this reason, the study of physics governing shock propagation problems in porous media is of particular importance, and the complexity of the governing equations also results in the numerical solution of these equations with many computational problems and costs. In this paper, shock wave damping is investigated numerically and experimentally in aluminum blocks with porous grains scattered inside aluminum. The deformations of the specimens in numerical simulation and experimental testing have been compared. The results show that this material behaves similarly to the aluminum foam in both static loadings (practical pressure testing) and dynamic loading (explosion simulation) results, again similar to aluminum foam.

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Design, numerical simulation and experimental testing of a controlled electrical actuation system in a real aircraft morphing wing model

The Aeronautical Journal ◽

10.1017/s0001924000011131 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 119 (1219) ◽

pp. 1047-1072 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

R. M. Botez ◽

M. J. Tchatchueng Kammegne ◽

L. T. Grigorie

Keyword(s):

Experimental Testing ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Morphing Wing ◽

Theoretical Simulation ◽

Actuation Mechanism ◽

Wing Model ◽

Actuation System ◽

Structural Rigidity ◽

Bench Testing ◽

And Control

AbstractThe paper focuses on the modelling, simulation and control of an electrical miniature actuator integrated in the actuation mechanism of a new morphing wing application. The morphed wing is a portion of an existing regional aircraft wing, its interior consisting of spars, stringers, and ribs, and having a structural rigidity similar to the rigidity of a real aircraft. The upper surface of the wing is a flexible skin, made of composite materials, and optimised in order to fulfill the morphing wing project requirements. In addition, a controllable rigid aileron is attached on the wing. The established architecture of the actuation mechanism uses four similar miniature actuators fixed inside the wing and actuating directly the flexible upper surface of the wing. The actuator was designed in-house, as there is no actuator on the market that could fit directly inside our morphing wing model. It consists of a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor with a gearbox and a screw for pushing and pulling the flexible upper surface of the wing. The electrical motor and the screw are coupled through a gearing system. Before proceeding with the modelling, the actuator is tested experimentally (stand alone configuration) to ensure that the entire range of the requirements (rated or nominal torque, nominal current, nominal speed, static force, size) would be fulfilled. In order to validate the theoretical, simulation and standalone configuration experimental studies, a bench testing and a wind-tunnel testing of four similar actuators integrated on the real morphing wing model are performed.

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Lift distribution of washout twist morphing MAV wing

International Journal of Engineering & Technology ◽

10.14419/ijet.v7i4.13.21337 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (4.13) ◽

pp. 89

Author(s):

N. I. Ismail ◽

H. Yusoff ◽

Hazim Sharudin ◽

Arif Pahmi ◽

H. Hafi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Testing ◽

Aerodynamic Performance ◽

Special Test ◽

Morphing Wing ◽

Test Rig ◽

Biologically Inspired ◽

Air Vehicle ◽

Membrane Wing ◽

Stall Angle ◽

Wing Deformation

Micro Air Vehicle, or also commonly known as MAV, is a miniature aircraft that has been gaining interest in the industry. MAV is defined as a flying platform with 15cm wingspan and operates at a speed of around 10m/s. Recently, MAV has been exposed with the latest development and link towards the biologically-inspired designs such as morphing wing. Twist morphing wing is one of the latest MAV wing design developments. The application of Twist Morphing (TM) on MAV wing has been previously known to produce better aerodynamic performance. Previous study in washin TM wing has shown a promising possibility of generating higher lift force. Despite the benevolent performance exhibited by the washin TM wing, the lift distribution for the washout type of TM MAV is relatively unknown and still open to be explored. This is probably due to the lack of experimental test rig to produce the washout twist morphing motion on the MAV wing. Therefore, this research aims to produce a special test rig for washout TM wing that is compatible for wind tunnel experimental testing. By using the special test rig, the experimental investigation on the lift performance of washout TM MAV wing can be done. Based on the wing deformation results, it clearly shows that the proposed test rig is capable to produce up to 19.5mm tip deflection at the morphing point, which is also resulting in a significant morphing motion. Higher morphing force induces larger morphing motion. Based on the lift distribution results, they show that the morphing motion has significantly affected the overall lift distribution on the MAV wing. The morphing motion on TM wing has produced at least 17.6% and 5.33% lower CL and CLmax magnitude, respectively, with the membrane wing especially at the pre-stall region. However, the TM wing is still able to maintain the stall angle similar to the baseline wing at αstall= 31°. By maintaining high αstall value with lower CL and CLmax magnitude, TM wing produces more agility for the MAV maneuverability that will be useful for indoor mission or obstacle avoidance flight.

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