Lift Control Using MEMS-Based Moving Trailing-Edge Tabs

Micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) translational tabs are introduced for active lift control on aircraft. These tabs are mounted near the trailing edge of lifting surfaces such as aircraft wings and tails, deploy approximately normal to the surface, and have a maximum deployment height on the order of one percent of the section chord. Deployment of the tab effectively changes the sectional camber, thereby changing the aerodynamic characteristics of a lifting surface. Tabs with said deployment height generate a change in the section lift coefficient of approximately ±0.3. The microtab design and the techniques used to fabricate and test the tabs are presented.

A New Self-Adjusting CVT Configuration Using Compliant Mechanisms

This paper introduces a new configuration of a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that is self-adjusting and designed as a compliant mechanism. This new configuration is called the Pivot-Arm CVT. The criteria for classification as a Pivot-Arm CVT is discussed. An analytical model describing the performance of the Pivot-Arm CVT is developed. Special design considerations which may be useful in implementing Pivot-Arm CVTs are introduced and explained. The Pivot-Arm CVT model is validated through controlled testing of two Pivot-Arm CVT prototypes.

Effect of Centrifugal Force Effect on Magneto-Rheological Fluid Clutches

The property of magnetorheological fluids to change their yield stress depending on applied magnetic fields can be employed to develop many controllable devices one of them being MR fluid based clutches. One major problem however with MR fluid based clutches is that at high rotational speeds, the iron/ferrous particles in the MR fluid centrifuge due to very high centrifugal forces. Thus the particles move outward as the speed increases thereby making the fluid non-homogeneous. Many times however the initial analysis assumes fluid homogeneity, which is really not the case. In this paper this problem is addressed by assuming various volume fraction profiles describing the fluid particle orientation. Two cases, one with a linear profile and the other with an exponential profile are discussed. Expressions for the torque transmitted are derived at for both disc shaped and cylindrical shaped clutches. In addition, the use of a MR sponge based clutch that may indeed reduce the effect of centrifugal forces significantly is described. The design methodology and configuration for the sponge clutch are also discussed. An experimental set up used to test the clutch is also described.

Optimal Design of a Smart Conformable Rotor Airfoil

An optimization method has been developed for the design of a smart conformable rotor airfoil with distributed piezoelectric actuators. A conformable airfoil is proposed as a substitute for trailing edge flaps used for helicopter vibration reduction by achieving high frequency camber variations. A topology optimization approach is used where the objective is to maximize trailing edge deflection while minimizing airfoil deformations due to aerodynamic loads. Solutions of the design problem are obtained using Sequential Linear Programming coupled with a Finite Element Analysis procedure. Results show good algorithm convergence and satisfactory airfoil deformations. A study of the effects of different active material resources, skin thickness and aerodynamic loads is performed. Changes in lift coefficient are found to be lower than those obtained for an equivalent flap at similar deflection angles, suggesting that larger deflections might be required for vibration reduction purposes.

Positive Position Feedback Vibration Control of a Composite I-Beam With Fuzzy Gain Tuning

Positive position feedback (PPF) control is widely used in active vibration control of flexible structures. To ensure the vibration is quickly suppressed, a large PPF scalar gain is often applied in a PPF controller. However, PPF control with a large scalar gain causes initial overshoot, which is undesirable in many situations. In this paper, a fuzzy gain tuner is proposed to tune the gain in the positive position feedback control to reduce the initial overshoot while still maintaining a quick vibration suppression. The fuzzy system is trained by the desired input-output data sets by batch least squares algorithm so that the trained fuzzy system can behave like the training data. A 3.35 meter long I-beam with piezoceramic patch sensors and actuators is used as the experimental object. The experiments include the standard PPF control, standard PPF control with traditional fuzzy gain tuning, and PPF control with batch least squares fuzzy gain tuning. Experimental results clearly demonstrate that PPF control with batch least squares fuzzy gain tuner behaves much better than the other two in terms of successfully reducing the initial overshoot and quickly suppressing vibration.

Buckling Induced Nonlinear Phenomenon in a Micro-Electromechanical Resonator

Oscillations of micro-electromechanical resonators constructed from clamped-clamped beam structures are studied in this effort. Piezoelectric actuation is used to excite these structures on the input side and piezoelectric sensing is carried out on the output side. Although axial loads in clamped-clamped beam based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have been considered before, the relevance of buckling to this problem has not studied before in such “small” scale systems. In this work, possibilities for buckling are examined, and it is shown that for resonance excitations, consideration of buckling may help explain associated experimentally observed spatial patterns as a nonlinear phenomenon.

Mechanical Deformation of Field-Coupled Materials

This article describes remarkable similarities in the nonlinear mechanical response of different active/smart materials despite fundamental differences in the underlying mechanisms associated with each material. Active/smart materials (i.e., piezoelectric (PZT-5H), magnetostrictive (Terfenol-D), and shape memory alloys (NiTi)) exhibit strong non-linear mechanical behavior produced by changing non-mechanical internal states such as polarization, magnetization, and phase/twin configuration. In active/smart materials the initial deformation proceeds linearly followed by a jump in strain associated with the transformation of an internal non-mechanical state. After the transformation, the mechanical response returns to linear elastic. Upon unloading, a residual strain is observed which can be recovered with the application of a corresponding external field (i.e., electric, magnetic, or thermal). Due to coupling between applied fields and non-mechanical internal states, mechanical deformation is also a function of applied external fields. At a critical applied field, the residual strain is eliminated, providing repeatable cyclic characteristics that can be used in passive damping applications. Even though different intrinsic processes (i.e., polarization, magnetization, and phase/twin variant composition) govern the deformation of each material, their macroscopic behavior is explained using a unified volume fraction concept. That is, the deformation of piezoelectric material is described in terms of the volume fraction of ferroelectric domains with polarization parallel or orthogonal to the applied load; the deformation of magnetostrictive materials is described in terms of the volume fraction of magnetic domains with magnetization parallel or orthogonal to the applied load; and the deformation of shape memory material is described in terms of the volume fraction of twin variants that are oriented favorably to the applied load. Although the qualitative behavior of each material is similar, the average magnitude of stress required to induce non-linearity varies from ~10 MPa for Terfenol-D to ~65 MPa for PZT-5H to ~300 MPa for NiTi shape memory alloy. It is hypothesized that a composite material made of these materials connected in series would exhibit passive damping over a wide range of applied stress.

Performance Characteristics of a Smart Flexible Beam With Distributed ACLD Elements

The finite element method, in conjunction with the Golla-Hughes-McTavish (GHM) viscoelastic model, is employed to model a clamped-free beam partially treated with active constrained layer damping (ACLD) elements. The governing equations of motion are converted to a state-space form for control system design. Prior to this, since the resultant finite element model has too many degrees of freedom due to the addition of dissipative coordinates, a model reduction is performed to revert the system back to its original size. Finally, optimal output feedback gains are designed based on the reduced models. Numerical simulations are performed to study the effect of different element configurations, with various spacing and locations, on the vibration control performance of a “smart” flexible ACLD treated beam. Results are presented for the damping ratios of the first two modes of vibration. It is found that improvement on the second mode damping can be achieved by splitting a single ACLD element into two and placing them at appropriate positions of the beam.

Dynamic Topology Optimization of Compliant Mechanisms and Piezoceramic Actuators

A topology optimization method is developed to design a piezoelectric ceramic actuator together with a compliant mechanism coupling structure for dynamic applications. The objective is to maximize the mechanical efficiency with a constraint on the capacitance of the piezoceramic actuator. Examples are presented to demonstrate the effect of considering dynamic behavior compared to static behavior, and the effect of sizing the piezoceramic actuator on the optimal topology and the capacitance of the actuator element. Comparison studies are also presented to illustrate the effect of damping, external spring stiffness, and driving frequency. The optimal topology of the compliant mechanism is shown to be dependent on the driving frequency, the external spring stiffness, and if the piezoelectric actuator element is considered as design or non-design. At high driving frequencies, it was found that the dynamically optimized structure is very near resonance.

Inflight Deicing of Self-Actuating Aircraft Wing Structures With Piezoelectric Actuators

Self-actuating aircraft wings for in-flight deicing with minimal power requirements are proposed. Lightweight piezoelectric actuators are utilized to excite the wing structure to its natural frequencies to induce shear stresses on the surface of the wing. The shears are generated in such a way that they are sufficient to break the weak bond between the ice layer and the wing surface. A laminated composite cantilever plate is used for the modeling and analysis. Analytical model is developed to predict the natural frequencies and shear stresses on the surface of the plate and finite element modal analysis is carried out to verify the results. In addition, finite element model involving the ice deposited on the underlying structure is built. The dynamic responses of the structure to harmonic excitation to its first five natural frequencies are investigated. It is observed that significant amount of ice de-bonding from the substrate occurs in the third mode, or the second symmetric mode. Moreover, the energy requirements of the piezoelectric actuators to actuate an adaptive composite structure with given weight are evaluated.