Reduction of Structural Mass Fraction for Extreme Solar HALE Flying Wings

This topic seeks a new technology for very low mass wings for HALE aircraft. Our target is a wing weighing less than 0.5 lbs/sqft of wing area. We propose to demonstrate the feasibility of using tensegrity technology to build wings that can meet the weight objectives while satisfying HALE requirements for performance and robustness under expected operational conditions. Tensegrity structures are a connected network of rods in compression and strings in tension. Very low mass/strength ratios are a fundamental property of such structures. Also, feedback control systems allow dynamic manipulation of rod lengths and string tensions for adaptive morphing of the structure to meet changing requirements and loading conditions. While the tensegrity concept has been known for a long time, practical application is enabled by our success in developing the analytical and computational tools needed for the structural design and optimization.