Morphing Wing Design with an Innovative Three-Dimensional Warping Actuation

Advanced wing configurations where traditional control surfaces are replaced by dynamically controlled distribution of wing twist and/or camber can provide significant benefits to aircraft performance, such as reduced vibration and noise, increased fuel efficiency. Elimination of traditional control surfaces such as flaps can lead to smoother wing surfaces which are especially important in reducing electromagnetic signature of the wings in military aircraft. In this research and development program, Materials Technologies Corporation (MTC) and its team members propose a three-dimensional warping concept in which the typically closed airfoil section is cut open to create a torsionally compliant mechanism that acts as its own amplification device without needing additional mechanisms whatsoever. Deformation of the airfoil is entirely controlled by out-of-plane warping, a purely geometric effect.