Design of morphing wing leading edge with compliant mechanism

Abstract

This paper describes a design process of morphing wing leading edge with a compliant mechanism. A bending-shape design method by thickness optimization of variable cross-section beam is proposed to solve the maximum curvature move in the leading edge of morphing wings. The leading edge is simplified into a four beam elements model with different rectangular sections. The variable cross-section leading edge is optimized by a genetic algorithm. A linear finite element analysis is added to the optimization when the non-convergence occurs. Two driving forces are determined by the same method, which are the conditions of topology optimization. The transmission mechanism is a compliant mechanism designed by topology optimization method based on non-linear structure. The simulation result is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.