Shape memory alloy/glass fiber woven composite for soft morphing winglets of unmanned aerial vehicles

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• 作者：Min-Woo Han^a ; Hugo Rodrigue^a ; ^b ; Hyung-Il Kim^a ; Sung-Hyuk Song^a ; Sung-Hoon Ahn^a ; ^b ; ^{ahnsh@snu.ac.kr" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author}
• 关键词：Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) ; Smart materials ; Mechanical testing ; Soft morphing
• 刊名：Composite Structures
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：15 April 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：140
• 期：Complete
• 页码：202-212
• 全文大小：4323 K

文摘

Morphing technology is inspired by biological motion for implementation in missions in a variety of areas without shape-change device. This study investigates the aerodynamic performance of a self-contained morphing winglet for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that mimics the wing-tip feathers of gliding birds. A smart soft composite (SSC), formed of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires and glass fibers within a soft polymeric matrix, was used to fabricate morphing winglets. Experiments were conducted with various diameters and numbers of embedded SMA wires, and numbers of the glass-fiber fabric lamina, which were compared with an analytical model. Morphing winglets were implemented at both wing tips of a WASP 4/7-scale UAV, and the aerodynamic characteristics were investigated using a wind tunnel testing with various attack angles. As results, when the morphing winglet was actuated, the lift-to-drag ratio increased by 5.8% compared with the flat wing geometry for attack angle greater than 5°.