Intelligent control of a morphing wing, Part II : Validation phase

The paper presents the numerical and experimental validation of an intelligent controller for a new morphing mechanism using smart materials made of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) for the actuators. A brief presentation of the finally adopted controller architecture precedes its validation exposure consisting in numerical simulations, experimental bench tests, and wind tunnel tests. The Matlab/Simulink software is used to tune the controller through numerical simulation and after that to be experimentally implemented. In the physical model development, two Programmable Switching Power Supplies AMREL SPS100-33 and a Quanser Q8 data acquisition card are used. The feedback signals in the control loop are provided by two Linear Variable Differential Transformer potentiometers monitoring the actuators’ positions. Also, six thermocouples allow supervising of the SMA wires temperatures. In order to obtain the desired skin deflections, the power supplies are controlled using the acquisition card outputs.