Distributed Modeling and Control of Adaptive Wings.

摘要

New generations of highly-maneuverable aircraft, such as Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV) or Micro Air Vehicles (MAV), are likely to feature very flexible lifting surfaces. In order to enhance their stealth properties and maneuverability, the possibility of using smart wings and morphing airfoils instead of conventional, hinged control surfaces is investigated. This task requires a fundamental understanding of the interaction between fluid, structure and control system, in a coded form that is fast enough to design with. This DARPA-funded project takes a fundamental approach to understanding the relevant physical phenomena using different models of a flying wing vehicle in flight. We have developed a model that is consistent with distributed control, and have exercised this model to determine what progress is possible in terms of flight control (lift, drag, and maneuver performance) with morphing wings. For this purpose, different modeling levels are examined and combined with a variety of distributed control approaches to determine exactly what types of maneuvers and flight regimes may be possible, and to determine the forces, moments, and deflections that would be needed from the actuation community in order to fly an aircraft completely without the use of discrete control surfaces. This year's progress has been to bring together several elements (aerodynamics, flight dynamics, shape generation, and control) to determine bounds on the required forces, moments and strokes for flying by morphing.