Analysis of composite wing structures with a morphing leading edge

One of the main challenges for the civil aviation industry is the reduction of its environmental impact. Over the past years, improvements in performance efficiency have been achieved by simplifying the design of the structural components and using composite materials to reduce the overall weight. These approaches however, are not sufficient to meet the current demanding requirements set for a „greener‟ aircraft. Significant changes in drag reduction and fuel consumption can be obtained by using new technologies, such as smart morphing structures. These concepts will in fact help flow laminarisation, which will increase the lift to drag ratio. Furthermore, the capability to adapt the wing shape will enable to optimise the aerodynamic performance not only for a single flight condition but during the entire mission. This will significantly improve the aircraft efficiency. The current research work has been carried out as part of the European Commission founded Seventh Framework Program called „Smart High Lift Device for the Next Generation Wing‟ (SADE), which main aim is to develop and study morphing high lift devices. The author‟s investigation focused on developing a design concept for the actuation mechanism of a morphing leading edge device. A detailed structural analysis has been carried out in order to demonstrate its feasibility.

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