Structural and aeroelastic modeling of general planform wings with morphing airfoils

By use of equivalent plate modeling, an efficient method has been developed to study the structural behavior and static aeroelastic response of general builtup wing structures composed of skins, spars, and ribs. The model includes transverse shear effects by treating the wing as a plate, following the first-order shear deformation theory. The equations of motion are derived using the Ritz method with Legendre polynomials as trial functions. To model arbitrary wing planforms, the wing is composed of two plates, connected by distributed translatory and rotary springs of very high stiffness. The structural model has been validated for a set of examples by comparing the results with the ones obtained from MSC/NASTRAN. A distributed actuation scheme allows the modification of wing twist and camber for maneuver control of the vehicle. The model has been applied to study the roll performance of a flapless smart wing with morphing airfoils. It has been shown that a wing without conventional, hinged control surfaces can exhibit improved roll performance and an increased roll reversal speed due to both aerodynamic and structural advantages.