Design of a Shape Memory Alloy Actuated Morphing Wing

Abstract

The variability of flight conditions means that current aircraft designs are only efficient at a small range of operating points. Morphing wings can solve this problem by producing optimal airfoil shapes throughout the aircraft mission. The morphing wing design presented here produces a continuous range of airfoils ranging from a NACA 2412 to a NACA 4412. Articulated rib sections are actuated individually by nitinol shape memory alloy wires. Bang-bang feedback control is implemented using an Arduino to provide speedy and accurate morphing. Compared to a standard NACA 2412 airfoil, this morphing wing concept reduces drag over an infinite wing section by up to 40% during takeoff and inhibits the formation of localized vortices off of the flap discontinuity.