Design of flexible skin based on a mixed cruciform honeycomb

Jiaxin Rong; Li Zhou

doi:10.1117/12.2258579

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12 April 2017 Design of flexible skin based on a mixed cruciform honeycomb

Jiaxin Rong, Li Zhou

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Proceedings Volume 10168, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2017; 1016837 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2258579
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2017, Portland, Oregon, United States

Abstract

As the covering of morphing wings, flexible skin is required to provide adequate cooperation deformation, keep the smoothness of the aerodynamic configuration and bear the air load. The non-deformation direction of flexible skin is required to be restrained to keep the smoothness during morphing. This paper studies the deformation mechanisms of a cruciform honeycomb under zero Poisson’s ratio constraint. The morphing capacity and in-plane modulus of the cruciform honeycomb are improved by optimizing the shape parameters of honeycomb unit. To improve the out-of-plane bending capacity, a zero Poisson’s ratio mixed cruciform honeycomb is proposed by adding ribs into cruciform honeycomb, which can be used as filling material of flexible skin. The mechanical properties of the mixed honeycomb are studied by theoretical analysis and simulation. The local deformation of flexible skin under air load is also analyzed. Targeting the situation of non-uniform air load, a gradient density design scheme is referred. According to the design requirements of the variable camber trailing edge wing flexible skin, the specific design parameters and performance parameters of the skin based on the mixed honeycomb are given. The results show that the zero Poisson’s ratio mixed cruciform honeycomb has a large bending rigidity itself and can have a better deformation capacity in-plane and a larger bending rigidity out-of-plane by optimizing the shape parameters. Besides, the designed skin also has advantages in driving force, deformation capacity and quality compared with conventional skin.

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Jiaxin Rong and Li Zhou "Design of flexible skin based on a mixed cruciform honeycomb", Proc. SPIE 10168, Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems 2017, 1016837 (12 April 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2258579

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