How the Airfoil Shape of a Morphing Wing Is Actuated and Controlled in a Smart Way
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper presents a smart way to actuate and control the airfoil shape of a morphing wing in the open-loop architecture. The actuation system uses smart material actuators such as shape memory alloys, disposed in two parallel actuation lines, and its control is performed with a Mamdani-type fuzzy logic proportional derivative (PD) controller. The morphing wing project description, its actuation system structure, and the control design and validation are highlighted in this paper. The results obtained by both numerical simulation and experimental validation (bench tests and wind-tunnel tests) are presented as part of the control design and validation. An analysis of the wind flow characteristics, based on the information provided by the pressure sensors mounted on the flexible skin of the morphing wing in the wind-tunnel tests, is included as a supplementary validation; the transition between laminar and turbulent flows is real-time visualized, and the aerodynamic efficiency of the controlled morphing wing is evaluated.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ), Thales Canada, and Bombardier Aerospace for their financial and technical support. The authors also wish to express their appreciation to Mr. George Henri Simon for initiating the CRIAQ 7.1 project and to Mr. Philippe Molaret from Thales Canada for his collaboration in this work.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 1 • January 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 31, 2012
Accepted: Jul 15, 2013
Published online: Jul 17, 2013
Discussion open until: Oct 30, 2014
Published in print: Jan 1, 2015
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