A Novel Basic Conceptual Design and Analysis of a Morphing Wing Using Re-Entrant Hexagonal Cellular Structure

A novel morphing wing structure is designed based on the concept of re–entrant hexagonal cellular structure. The re–entrant hexagonal cellular structure is adopted because of its ability to undergo large overall displacements with limited deformation in spanwise direction. The presented unconventional cellular based morphing wing structure can satisfy the requirements of configuration changing while wing morphing, which can makes the aircraft remain at the most effective state and perform multiple missions effectively and efficiently. Numerical analyses were performed to exploit the presented wing structures using commercial finite element method. It was shown that the morphing wing structure examined here had can change its relative thickness as much as 5%, which can make lift coefficient increase significantly. Therefore, the presented structure can be served as a smart variable wing structure and has much effective and efficient aerodynamic performance.