Virginia Tech AEME Morphing Wing Project

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Virginia Tech AE/ME Morphing Wing Project

• Final Presentation

April 24, 2003 VT AE/ME Morphing
Wing Team 1
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Team Members
AE Members Laura Arrison Kevin Birocco Chuck
Gaylord Brandon Herndon Kathleen Manion Mike
Metheny
ME Members Michael Cummins Robert
Forrester Nicholas Hanak Tae Kwon Mathew
McCarty Marcus Tepaske
Sophomore Members Caroline Hutchinson (ME) Greg
Wargo (EE) Faculty Advisors Dr. Robertshaw Dr.
Inman Dr. Mason
April 24, 2003 VT AE/ME Morphing
Wing Team 2
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Morphing is defined as a change in the aircrafts
physical characteristics

• Smooth shape change of wing surfaces
• More efficient flight
• Reduced radar cross-section

Soar, observe
Maneuverability
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There are two main types of morphing
Mission Morphing
Control Morphing

• Aspect ratio change
• Area change
• Dihedral change

• Camber change
• Twist change
• Continuous control surface change

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Goals for project

Future Work
This Semester
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There were five main goals for this project

• Build a radio controlled conventional delta
• wing aircraft
• Fly the model to obtain data
• Design and build a flying morphing delta wing
• aircraft
• Fly morphing wing and record flight data
• Compare data from the two delta wings

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The telescoping wing was a preliminary design
concept last semester

• Increased wingspan benefits landing and
  low-speed cruise
• Retract for increased maneuverability

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Morphing can also be used for control

• Smooth, continuous deflection of the back of the
  delta wing to control the flight of the aircraft.

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Our first idea was to use linkages off the servo
to provide deflection

• Pros
• Simple to actuate
• 180O deflection
• Good Mechanical Advantage
• Cons
• Weak
• Not enough room to fasten links

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Further analysis showed that an interlocking and
jointed rib provided more reliable actuation

• Pros
• Increased Stability
• Easy to assemble
• Cons
• Reduced deflection (30O)
• Requires more actuator force

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The flexible skin used layers of one-dimensional
lycra and latex
Materials
Criterion

• Latex
• 100 cotton
• 1-D Lycra
• 2-D Lycra

• Elasticity
• Non-porous
• Non-rippling

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Time constraints and technical difficulties
forced a decision to only go with mission
morphing design

• The laser cam broke
• Time restraints
• Decided to buy same kit and alter as
  needed

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BetaMax construction was modeled after the Delta
Vortex design

• Removed last rib
• Added telescoping wing
• No CG change mechanism

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A comparison of the structural differences
between the Delta Vortex and the BetaMax
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Static stability provides clues to flight
characteristics
Neutral point and center of gravity are measured
from the trailing edge
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The telescoping wings were developed in several
stages

• Wings were hot-wire cut from R7 insulation foam
• The foam was coated in fiberglass to make a rigid
  structure
• Finally, plastic guide tubes were inserted by
  drilling out the foam
• The guide tubes ride on twin aluminum rails that
  are anchored within the plane

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A bi-lateral rack and pinion coupled to a slider
crank mechanism was used to move the wings

• Custom acrylic housing for the dual rack and
  pinion system
• Servo with the stops removed is used to run the
  wings in and out
• Kill switches maintain a maximum distance of
  travel

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Balance calculations were performed prior to
first flight

• Delta Vortex I
• Center of Gravity is 22 inches from trailing edge
• Neutral Point is 19 inches from the trailing edge
• 8 Stability

• Beta Max II
• Center of Gravity is 20.5 inches from trailing
  edge
• Neutral Point is 19 inches from the trailing edge
• 4.7 and 7.4 Stability in/out
• Surface Area Wings 15

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We will collect data to compare all of our designs
Physical Data
Performance Data

• Accelerations
• Body rates

• Airspeed
• Control surface deflections/forces

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We needed a variety of instruments to find flight
characterization data

• Pitot tube/Pressure Transducer dynamic pressure
• Accelerometers accelerations, forces
• Gyros body angular rates
• Potentiometers - to measure control surface
  position

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We found off-the-shelf items that will provide us
with the necessary data
Crossbow CXL-10LP3 Triple Axis Accelerometer
Crossbow AD2000 Data Logger
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We found off-the-shelf items that will provide us
with the necessary data
Dwyer Standard Model 1/8 pitot tube along with
Dwyer Differential Pressure Transducer
Analog Devices Piezo-Electric Gyroscope
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We found off-the-shelf items that will provide us
with the necessary data
Signal Conditioning Circuitry on a breadboard
Radio Shack 5K-ohm potentiometer
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We instrumented each aircraft to record data
Delta Vortex

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We instrumented each aircraft to record data
Delta Vortex
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Signal conditioning was necessary for several of
the instruments
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During the flights, we successfully collected
data from each of the instruments
Delta Vortex vertical climb
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During the flights, we successfully collected
data from each of the instruments
BetaMax Roll
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Two flight attempts were performed with the
BetaMax

• Improper balancing resulted in a failed first
  flight

• BetaMax (version 1.0) vs. Delta Vortex
• 50 heavier
• 30 less elevon area
• 5 more statically stable (harder to rotate)

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The balance and weight problems were easily fixed
by removing the added weight

• Reduced weight by 2 lbs
• Moved CG further back, lessening static margin
• Constructed new elevons with 11 more area than
  those of the Delta Vortex

Unfortunately, other problems arose
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With the aid of some duct tape, a successful
flight was finally achieved!
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We have accomplished most of our goals for this
year

• Build and fly a conventional delta wing
• Gather performance data from conventional delta
  wing
• Build and fly morphing delta wing
• Gather performance data from morphing delta wing
• Compare data

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We plan to fly the Delta Vortex and the BetaMax
one more time

• Will fly specific flight paths with both aircraft
• Fuel consumption will be measured and compared
• Data will be analyzed
• by future teams

Questions?