One Dimensional Morphing Structures for Advanced Aircraft

Abstract

Since the Wright Brothers’ first flight, the idea of “morphing” an airplane’s characteristics through continuous, rather than discrete, movable aerodynamic surfaces has held the promise of more efficient flight control. While the Wrights used a technique known as wing warping, or twisting the wings to control the roll of the aircraft (Wright and Wright, 1906), any number of possible morphological changes could be undertaken to modify an aircraft’s flight path or overall performance. Some notable examples include the Parker Variable Camber Wing used for increased forward speed (Parker, 1920), the impact of a variable dihedral wing on aircraft stability (Munk, 1924), the high speed dash/low speed cruise abilities associated with wings of varying sweep (Buseman, 1935), and the multiple benefits of cruise/dash performance and efficient roll control gained through telescopic wingspan changes (Sarh, 1991; Gevers, 1997; Samuel and Pines, 2007)