Abstract
The work describes, a concept to morph the thickness of airfoils using a combination of Pneumatic Flexible Tubes (PFTs) within a Kirigami honeycomb configuration representing the wingbox structure. The configuration of the honeycomb/inflatable tube structure is composed by a pair of flexible tubes sandwiched between two custom honeycomb layouts. At zero input pressure the tube assumes a sinusoidal shape, which is reduced to a straight configuration and increase of the airfoil thickness when pressure is applied. An analytical model is developed to consider the actuation authority and thickness change provided by the system proposed. The results are benchmarked against experimental tests carried out on a reduced-scale demonstrator.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | ICAST 2014 - 25th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies |
| Publisher | International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2014 |
| Event | 25th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies, ICAST 2014 - The Hague, United Kingdom Duration: 6 Oct 2014 → 8 Oct 2014 |
Conference
| Conference | 25th International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies, ICAST 2014 |
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| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | The Hague |
| Period | 6/10/14 → 8/10/14 |
Keywords
- Inflatable structure
- Modelling
- Morphing airfoil