Design, fabrication, and testing of a new twist-active wing design

Ronald M. Barrett; David Law

doi:10.1117/12.316919

27 July 1998 Design, fabrication, and testing of a new twist-active wing design

Ronald M. Barrett, David Law

Proceedings Volume 3329, Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.316919
Event: 5th Annual International Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

This paper outlines the design, fabrication and testing techniques used for a new class of active wings. In support of recent efforts to shrink high authority, high speed aircraft flight controls for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), a new wing design was conceived. Quasi-vortex lattice methods were used to determine roll control power of unswept wings with (1) conventional ailerons, (2) active twist, and (3) a new method which employs root twist only. It was shown that linear wing twist provides 3.9 times more roll control than conventional ailerons. Root twist manipulations are shown to provide 1.6 times more control than twist. A comparison of control authority per unit actuator weight also shows that root actuators are more than 20% lighter than the other two systems. To drive the new root pitch actuator, a directionally attached piezoelectric (DAP) torque-late actuator was built. A laminated plate theory analysis of the 4' span, 3' chord DAP torque-plate showed good correlation between theory and experiment. The DAP torque plate was integrated into a 30' span, 4' chord graphite-epoxy wing. Structural testing showed wing pitch deflections up to +/- 1.5 degree(s) at rates in excess of 70 Hz. Wind tunnel tests were conducted between 1 and 20 ft/s (typical MAV flight speeds) and showed rolling moment coefficients up to +/- 0.026 (equivalent to +/- 8.4 degree(s) of aileron deflection), indicating that the new wing is well suited to flight control of micro-sized aircraft.

Citation Download Citation

Ronald M. Barrett and David Law "Design, fabrication, and testing of a new twist-active wing design", Proc. SPIE 3329, Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, (27 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.316919

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available