INFLATABLE SMART MISSILE WING DESIGN EVALUATION

THREE AREAS OF ACTIVE MISSILE WING RESEARCH WILL BE PURSUED. THE FIRST SECTION WILL EVALUATE THE MATERIALS TO BE USED IN THE INFLATABLE WING SPARS, RIBS, SKINS, PRESSURE BLADDERS AND ACTIVE ELEMENTS. SPECIMENS OF HIGH ORTHOGONALITY COMPOSITES (POLYURETHANE-GRAPHITE) WILL BE CONSTRUCTED ALONG WITH SAMPLE ISOTROPIC BLADDER MATERIALS (MYLAR OR TEFLON) SO THAT THEIR FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES CAN BE EVALUATED. OPERATING PRESSURES, ACTUATION CAPABILITIES AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES WILL ALSO BE DETERMINED. THE SECOND SECTION WILL EXPLORE THE LAYOUTS OF THE MISSILE WING COMPONENTS. THE PLACEMENT OF RIBS, SPARS AND ACTIVE ELEMENTS WILL BE INVESTIGATED FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE. AN E)CPERIMENTAL RIG WILL BE MADE TO DETERMINE THE UTILITY OF SHAPE-MEMORY-ALLOYS AS HIGH STIFFNESS WING-ROOT ACTUATORS. PIEZOELECTRIC ELEMENTS WILL BE EVALUATED FOR THEIR ABILITY TO PROVIDE ROLL AND PITCH CONTROL AS WELL AS SUPPRESSING VIBRATION AND FLUTTER. THE THIRD SECTION WILL EXPLORE THE LAYOUT OF THE SYSTEMS REQUIRED FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE MISSILE WING. HIGH PRESSURE, HIGH TEMPERATURE LINES AND REGULATION DEVICES WILL BE LAID OUT ON TWO CANDIDATE MISSILES. ONE MISSILE WILL HAVE LOW ASPECT RATIO FINS, THE OTHER WILL HAVE HIGH ASPECT RATIO WINGS. PHASE I CONCLUDES WITH A FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS OF THE INFLATABLE, ACTIVE MISSILE WING.