A bio-inspired high-authority actuator for shape morphing structures

Dana M. Elzey; Aarash Yusefzadeh Nagh Sofla; Haydn N. G. Wadley

doi:10.1117/12.484745

13 August 2003 A bio-inspired high-authority actuator for shape morphing structures

Dana M. Elzey, Aarash Yusefzadeh Nagh Sofla, Haydn N. G. Wadley

Proceedings Volume 5053, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Active Materials: Behavior and Mechanics; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.484745
Event: Smart Structures and Materials, 2003, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Lightweight structures capable of changing their shape on demand are of interest for a number of applications, including aerospace, power generation, and undersea vehicles. This paper describes a bio-inspired cellular metal vertebrate structure which relies on shape memory alloy (SMA) faces to achieve fully reversing shape change. The resulting vertebrate actuators can be combined with flexible face sheets to create a load-bearing, shape morphing panel. Performance of the vertebrate actuator in terms of maximum curvature and moment is analyzed and discussed. A recently constructed, prototype shape morphing airfoil is used to illustrate the concept.

Citation Download Citation

Dana M. Elzey, Aarash Yusefzadeh Nagh Sofla, and Haydn N. G. Wadley "A bio-inspired high-authority actuator for shape morphing structures", Proc. SPIE 5053, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Active Materials: Behavior and Mechanics, (13 August 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.484745

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