A Brief Review of the Actuation Systems of the Morphing Systems in Wind Tunnel Models and a Case Study

Abstract

Typical wind tunnel testing involves a series of configuration changes (to the angles of control surfaces) to simulate the lift and resistance characteristics of control surfaces in different flight conditions. It is very time-consuming and labor-intensive to manually change the angles of control surfaces, especially in the large continuous reflux wind tunnel. Thus, there is a demand for a morphing system design within the wind tunnel model that can deflect the control surfaces remotely and automatically. The basic design flow and characteristics of different actuator techniques for the morphing systems were summarized in this paper, including electromechanical actuator, pneumatic actuator, shape memory material actuator and piezoelectric actuator. In the case study, the accuracy of the control surface angle and aerodynamic performance of the ultrasonic-driven automatic control surface system reached the level of traditional fixed control surface systems, while its efficiency was much higher than that of the traditional fixed control surface systems.