Morphing Wing with high force actuator

[EVAUnit4A]

in Scottish accent: "Captain, she canno' take much more of dis!"

[1pdigit]

very cool, i guess this could replace flaps and slats?

[NotRealFiction]

i miss the star rating

[janisaree]

What mechanism do you propose for the wing root portion?...I mean the varying camber would only be effective at the wing tip and mid section.....and one more thing, this sort of aerofoil would only be capable of giving the wing a washout profile...is this specific aerofoil capable of giving the wing a wash in

profile.....thanks and by the way GREAT JOB!!:)

[janisaree]

What mechanism do you propose for the wing root portion?...I mean the varying camber would only be effective at the wing tip and mid section.....and one more thing, this sort of aerofoil would only be capable of giving the wing a washout profile...is this specific aerofoil capable of giving the wing a wash in profile.....thanks and by the way GREAT JOB!!:)

[potatopeel2]

@janisaree This wing was only designed to demonstrate variable camber. If one were to put this into practice on an airplane, it could have a discrete cambering section, much like the Fowler flap assemblies on an airliner, or it could entail a more compliant bird-like wing where the cambering would be less near the wing root, and become constant or greater, at a reasonable distance outwards towards the tip. A usable morphing wing would also need to include a variable sweep and/or folding wing.

[jackscott91]

How different is this to removing ailerons and using jets of air to reshape the flow over the wing, there-by changing its effective shape with no morphing, which one is more viable and plausible in the mainstream?

[potatopeel2]

@jackscott91 I am a structural guy, not an aerodynamicist, but I would think that using jets of air would only be useful over a small range of air speeds, while changing your camber could work over a wide range of air speeds. Both of them may entail extra weight, unless you can incorporate your camber change into your basic structure, which is what we are trying to illustrate. Other comments?

[MrFlyboy57]

@potatopeel2

You could add some wing area to compensate for the added weight. As well as a new power plant and etc

[vishakhvijayan901]

@potatopeel2 What are the main areas where we can make use of air muscles.... especially mechanical

[allzago]

I'm not sure I understand the altitude concerns. I would not deploy flaps at altitude. Is the idea here to increase camber/lift at high altitudes as well as for takeoff and landing? If so, for what purpose? To increase the efficient operating altitude of aircraft?

[dedawde]

Its good to see some innovative thinking.

This idea may or may not have practical applications but if not it would not be because of the limited effect of 50psi under flight condition wing load. The maximum wing load for an B747 is 740kg/m2 which equates to just over 1psi

[potatopeel2]

@dedawde The air pressure indicated in the description is the pressure it takes to inflate the internal rubber muscle actuators, and has nothing to do with wing loading.

[jessemc2]

they actually think air which will cuson and move under load can be equated to hydraulic 2000psi systems which are rock hard no cushon and no flex, Plus with using air at high altitudes with rubber bladders they would freeze and break or the ice from humidity in the air used would create icing in the systems, the only way possible for this to work is use hydraulics and multiple materials and make the flexing structure thinner with an underlying joint for strength

[GreenAce92]

Wow... this is actually pretty nice.

Flat or slight flex for fast flight and high under camber for slow /landing flight nice

[GaryCM4]

makes ya wonder what it is they are actually using out there that the public is'nt told about.

[stonerscolony]

Don't see why there can't be a gear lock mechanism in the rib area to morph with the wing and lock it into a position, of course the pressure still needs to be there but it would take pressure of the system when set into a position wanted, meanwhile everything is ready waiting.

[potatopeel2]

@stonerscolony

Right now the Air Force is trying to use Shape Memory Polymers to accomplish the same thing, but it takes considerable energy to heat the wing skins up, when you want them flexible. What you are suggesting is to have a mechanical system inside the structure, like current planes... but if our actuators are reliable enough, perhaps they would be sufficient to hold it in place?? Anyway, that is a dilemma of morphing structures.... how to hold the deformed shape efficiently.

[inkwhir]

I'd like to see a pressure coefficient diagram during the morphing :)

[potatopeel2]

@inkwhir:

We would like to see that too. The wing was hung from fishing line for the video that you see, I don't know if it could be mounted on a stinger to be put in a wind tunnel or not. Perhaps it could be mounted on one side. Just a note, the skins are likely too stiff, so perhaps we should use our molds to make less stiff skins, and see if we can get more deflection.

[Puronicth]

Turn to base +15 degrees of morph. Turn to final another 15. Yeah...cleaner, I get that. Can it get to a very high speed and still morph to 35 knot stall?

[potatopeel2]

@Puronicth

I would think that the higher speeds would be a function of the airfoil shape. The skins are rather stiff, so I don't think that flutter would be a problem.

[COD5252]

this design not suits for high wieght planes

[potatopeel2]

@COD5252

I am not sure what you mean here, it is likely that any plane that will fly is relatively low weight. Remember that this morphing wing demonstrator was built on a very limited budget, yet achieves the same or more change in angle than many higly funded programs.

[alkeli78]

This has no practical use in the real world... you're use a small slice of a small wing and applying 50PSI to bend it. Do the math on how much it would take to do that on an entire wing on a full-sized plane, then multiply that by 2 (for both wings). Not practical or safe, and the plane would not be maneuverable enough because nothing can pump up that much PSI that quickly...

Waste of time.

[ballajazzhus]

@alkeli78 Actually that statement is flawed, as you yourself said, PSI, that is pressure per square inch, the PSI would be the same even if you applied it over a larger area, so if you have one closed system with lets say 50 psi, another closed system with 50psi would not effect the first system. 1 2 3 or 4 wings, do not really matter. However using air or vacuum to achieve this would not be practical due to density, an hydraulic system on the other hand would be useful.

Think parallel.

[alkeli78]

@ballajazzhus I agree that PSI is PSI regardless of the area. However, a larger area requires more volume to increase it's PSI.

For example. Using a bicycle pump, it's quite easy to increase the pressure of a bicycle tire by 10 PSI. Now, use that same pump, and try to increase the pressure of a monster truck tire by 10 PSI. It will take much much longer because it require more volume to increase it by 10 PSI compared to a bike tire, and you'd probably have to take a few breaks lol

[datzfast]

@alkeli78 i think a jet engine has no trouble generating an unlimited supply of 160 psi. burnned air and fuel mix.

[alkeli78]

@datzfast First off, it has nothing to do with burned air and fuel mix... hydraulic pumps in aircrafts are powered by the turbine shaft and APU's.

Secondly, yes, the 50psi can bend this small section of a dinky wing. But even 160psi would do nothing when you have a flexible wing that has to fight against much stronger pressures because it's FLYING and trying to hold up the weight of the plane. If these bend this easy, they'd get ruined by the pressures of trying to fly or even glide.

[datzfast]

@alkeli78 your still on the wrong page.

[potatopeel2]

@alkeli78

If I had the funding, I would like to prove you wrong on all accounts. The rubber muscles actuators (RMAs) that power the wing are .5 inches in diameter, but expand in diameter as inflated, see video. They produce about 32X times the force as a pneumatic cylinder of the same diameter and pressure. 50 psi is low, most aircraft hydraulic cylinders operate at 1000-2000 psi. Air is lighter, but we have tested with water and get more force, and ~60X increased closed valve stiffness.

[datzfast]

@potatopeel2 you dont need money to prove him wrong, he is wrong. you could use a full length bladder and change the wing shape with 2 psi.or less. actually you would want a less effencient system to compensate for air pressure changes at altitude.

[jessemc2]

@alkeli78 so true, they actually think air which will cuson and move under load can be equated to hydraulic 2000psi systems which are rock hard no cushon and no flex, Plus with using air at high altitudes with rubber bladders they would freeze and break or the ice from humidity in the air used would create icing in the systems, the only way possible for this to work is use hydraulics and multiple materials and make the flexing structure thinner with an underlying joint for strength!

[guitartec]

Bernoulli gets too much credit. Forward trust kicks ass!

[applesweeter]

Dear All,

I have some question about psychology:

(1) Why do we love flying?

(2) Why do we enjoy to design and to build new innovative aeroplanes?

(3) Why do we like to build morphing wings similar to the birds' wings?

(4) What does motivate us to build morphing aeroplanes smiliar to flying birds in the natural environment?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for your creative ideas and brainstorm!!! :)

[potatopeel2]

@applesweeter I will try to answer according to my personal views.

1) I like flying for two reasons, a) it helps you cover large distances very quickly, and b) I have my private pilot's license, and when I used to fly regularly, I did it for the enjoyment of seeing the clouds from the air, viewing the mountains, moving like a bird, and the sheer freedom.

[potatopeel2]

@applesweeter

2) Because we can, basically. Why not. As an engineer I am trained to always try to improve something. 2), 3) and 4) are all part of the same question. Birds are well-designed for what they do, so if we try to mimic them, we have a good chance of improving on previous designs. However, birds are very complex, live structures, and we haven't reached the point, yet, where we can make something as light, strong, and adaptable, but we will get there.

[potatopeel2]

@applesweeter We can make fast planes, maneauverable planes, and so on, but we still can't make the complete package, like God can.

[freethinker4you]

hi all .

1 we love to fly because it gives us the freedom from gravity which alters our brian chemistry.

2 humans,chimpanzees and crows are tool users .

humans had evolved themselves from tool user to tool makers

3 & 4 = NATURE has designed the wings after many trials and errors for more than million of years of evolution and found the best design of wings for the birds . you dont need to start everything from the scratch , just follow the nature.

Nature is more creative than us!!

[freethinker4you]

@applesweeter

hi all .

1 we love to fly because it gives us the freedom from gravity which alters our brian chemistry.

2 humans,chimpanzees and crows are tool users .

humans had evolved themselves from tool user to toolmakers

3&4=NATURE has designed the wings after many trials and errors for more than million of years of evolution and found the best design of wings for the birds . you dont need to start everything from the scratch,just follow the nature.

Nature is more creative than us!

[applesweeter]

@freethinker4you

How do our brain chemistry changes when we fly?

Please tell me if you know.

[1BustedMyth]

Excellent !

[potatopeel2]

Please see the related video that I posted to see what a rubber muscle actuator is. It is pneumatic, but is much more powerful than a pneumatic cylinder of the same diameter.

[potatopeel2]

I haven't been responding to comments for a while, but to clarify:

a) there are no servos inside, only the rubber muscle actuators shown in the associated video.

b) The speed can easily be increased, we went slow so that we did not get any dynamic affects, but response times can be in fractions of a second.

c) The two lower skins slide across the center wing box, the rest of the tail and nose structure elastically deforms due to the elastomer composite construction.

- more to come.

[BryansU2B]

what is a rubber muscle? is it pneumatic? i can hear the air, and it looks like a clear tube hanging out

[potatopeel2]

@BryansU2B ... the clear tube is the air hose that goes to the actuators inside the wing.

[Ecurrie84]

@potatopeel2

this is just metal bending with pressure isn't it,

it's not "SMART MATERIALS" is it as in morphing metals.

[potatopeel2]

@Ecurrie84 ... no metal, the wing skins are carbon fibers impregnated with a semi-rigid elastomer. The actuators can be seen better in a related video that I have uploaded.

[Ecurrie84]

potatopeel2,

it's a pretty good concept regardless, well done.

Thanks for your reply, I'l check out your latest uploads.

[HeadShot360IN]

servos hidden inside i think?

[potatopeel2]

@HeadShot360IN ... there are no servos inside, just 3 rubber muscle actuators shown in a related video.

[bluefalconholland]

Very nice! The dino's already used this system. You use an actively mechanical construction..by using flexible wings you can make use of aerodynamic deformation...that sounds more easy i think.

[dexdrako]

do love this design simple yet effective, question does the over lap cause and Significant disruption of the air flow?

[potatopeel2]

@dexdrako ... that is a good question. The overlap shouldn't cause significant disruption, if you look out the window at the wing the next time you fly, you can see there are similar-sized disruptions in the air-flow on airliner wings.

[potatopeel2]

Since the actuators are powered by air, all we need to do to speed it up is to apply the air faster..... It is possible to go much faster.

[yoshyoka]

nice! can you improve speed?

[michaelhamaker]

Very Cool. How are you applying this technology?

[potatopeel2]

Currently I am at an Air Force Research Lab, developing enhanced versions of the actuators.