Morphing unmanned aerial vehicles

Research on aircraft morphing has exploded in recent years. The motivation and driving force behind this has been to find new and novel ways to increase the capabilities of aircraft. Materials advancements have helped to increase possibilities with respect to actuation and, hence, a diversity of concepts and unimagined capabilities. The expanded role of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has provided an ideal platform for exploring these emergent morphing concepts since at this scale a greater amount of risk can be taken, as well as having more manageable fabrication and cost requirements. This review focuses on presenting the role UAVs have in morphing research by giving an overview of the UAV morphing concepts, designs, and technologies described in the literature. A presentation of quantitative information as well as a discussion of technical issues is given where possible to begin gaining some insight into the overall assessment and performance of these technologies.

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[84]  Brian Sanders,et al.  Topology Optimization Approach for the Determination of the Multiple-Configuration Morphing Wing Structure , 2008 .

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[88]  Vladimir Brailovski,et al.  Design of Shape Memory Alloy Actuators for Morphing Laminar Wing With Flexible Extrados , 2009 .

[89]  D. M. Elzey,et al.  A shape memory-based multifunctional structural actuator panel , 2005 .

[90]  Mujahid Abdulrahim,et al.  Flight Dynamics of a Morphing Aircraft Utilizing Independent Multiple-Joint Wing Sweep , 2010 .

[91]  Ron Barrett,et al.  Post-buckled precompressed elements: a new class of control actuators for morphing wing UAVs , 2007 .

[92]  Brian Sanders,et al.  Aerodynamic and Aeroelastic Characteristics of Wings with Conformal Control Surfaces for Morphing Aircraft , 2003 .

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[95]  D. M. Elzey,et al.  A bio-inspired high-authority actuator for shape morphing structures , 2003, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

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[98]  Craig A. Rogers,et al.  One-Dimensional Thermomechanical Constitutive Relations for Shape Memory Materials , 1990 .

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[102]  Rick Lind,et al.  Flight Testing and Response Characteristics of a Variable Gull-Wing Morphing Aircraft , 2004 .

[103]  Norman M. Wereley,et al.  Design and Fabrication of a Passive 1-D Morphing Aircraft Skin , 2008 .

[104]  Narayanan Komerath,et al.  Active Multiple Winglets for Improved Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicle Performance , 2006 .

[105]  Mujahid Abdulrahim,et al.  ROLL CONTROL FOR A MICRO AIR VEHICLE USING ACTIVE WING MORPHING , 2003 .

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[107]  Jonathan D. Bartley-Cho,et al.  Development of High-rate, Adaptive Trailing Edge Control Surface for the Smart Wing Phase 2 Wind Tunnel Model , 2004 .

[108]  Rick Lind,et al.  Controllers for Disturbance Rejection for a Linear Input-Varying Class of Morphing Aircraft , 2005 .

[109]  Darryll J. Pines,et al.  Pneumatic Morphing Aspect Ratio Wing , 2004 .

[110]  Mujahid Abdulrahim,et al.  Investigation of Membrane Actuation for Roll Control of a Micro Air Vehicle , 2007 .

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[113]  Mujahid Abdulrahim,et al.  Using Avian Morphology To Enhance Aircraft Maneuverability , 2006 .

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[116]  J. E. Cooper,et al.  Adaptive Stiffness Structures for Air Vehicle Drag Reduction , 2006 .

[117]  Rolf Paradies,et al.  Active wing design with integrated flight control using piezoelectric macro fiber composites , 2009 .

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[120]  Antonio Concilio,et al.  Wing Shape Control through an SMA-Based Device , 2009 .

[121]  Jamey Jacob,et al.  Active Control of Separation on a Wing with Oscillating Camber , 2002 .

[122]  Kevin D Potter,et al.  The application of thermally induced multistable composites to morphing aircraft structures , 2008, SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[123]  Jamey Jacob,et al.  Optimization and Validation of a Variable Camber Airfoil , 2005 .

[124]  Mostafa Abdalla,et al.  Nonlinear Analysis and Optimization of Diamond Cell Morphing Wings , 2009 .

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[126]  Gregory W. Reich,et al.  Development of an Integrated Aeroelastic Multibody Morphing Simulation Tool (Postprint) , 2006 .

[127]  Paul H. Mirick,et al.  Low-cost piezocomposite actuator for structural control applications , 2000, Smart Structures.