Morphing Wing Performance Prediction: Stepping Stone for a Future Generation of Intelligent Aircraft

摘要

Advancements in new materials and manufacture capabilities, as well as an increased awareness of environmental impacts, revived the vision for a future generation of aircraft to utilise morphing technologies with the aim of offering greater efficiency, versatility and performance. This paper presents the design and testing of different morphing wing concepts. Furthermore, a multi-fidelity and multi-disciplinary software framework capable of predicting, assessing and optimising the performance of morphing wing technologies is introduced. It is demonstrated that morphing technologies can be successfully employed to improve the flight envelope and mission capabilities of a medium-scale UAV. All morphing technologies considered can in principle be applied to any aircraft, including General and Civil Aviation, and the modular and extendable software framework serves as a stepping stone for an integrated design approach for new aircraft. An inherently integrated design approach allows for a full evaluation of potential morphing benefits in terms of overall vehicle performance. This change in design paradigm gives manufacturers an advantage in the global competition for improved product efficiency, as well as reduced energy consumption and associated reduced emissions.