Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T09:32:50.519Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Design, numerical simulation and experimental testing of a controlled electrical actuation system in a real aircraft morphing wing model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

R. M. Botez*
Affiliation:
École de Technologie Supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
M. J. Tchatchueng Kammegne
Affiliation:
École de Technologie Supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
L. T. Grigorie
Affiliation:
École de Technologie Supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

The paper focuses on the modelling, simulation and control of an electrical miniature actuator integrated in the actuation mechanism of a new morphing wing application. The morphed wing is a portion of an existing regional aircraft wing, its interior consisting of spars, stringers, and ribs, and having a structural rigidity similar to the rigidity of a real aircraft. The upper surface of the wing is a flexible skin, made of composite materials, and optimised in order to fulfill the morphing wing project requirements. In addition, a controllable rigid aileron is attached on the wing. The established architecture of the actuation mechanism uses four similar miniature actuators fixed inside the wing and actuating directly the flexible upper surface of the wing. The actuator was designed in-house, as there is no actuator on the market that could fit directly inside our morphing wing model. It consists of a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor with a gearbox and a screw for pushing and pulling the flexible upper surface of the wing. The electrical motor and the screw are coupled through a gearing system. Before proceeding with the modelling, the actuator is tested experimentally (stand alone configuration) to ensure that the entire range of the requirements (rated or nominal torque, nominal current, nominal speed, static force, size) would be fulfilled. In order to validate the theoretical, simulation and standalone configuration experimental studies, a bench testing and a wind-tunnel testing of four similar actuators integrated on the real morphing wing model are performed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2015

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Barbarino, S.et al. A review of morphing aircraft, J Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, 2011, 22, (9), pp 823877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Xia, C.L.Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Motor Drives and Controls, John Wiley & Sons, 2012.Google Scholar
3.Sommerer, A., Lutz, Th. and Wagner, S.Numerical optimisation of adaptive transonic aerofoils with variable camber, Proceedings of the 22nd ICAS Congress, Harrogate, UK, 27 August – 1 September 2000.Google Scholar
4.Wadehn, W.et alStructural concepts and aerodynamic design of shock control bumps, Proceedings of the 23nd ICAS Congress, Toronto, Canada, 8-13 September 2002.Google Scholar
5.Sobieczky, H. and Geissler, W.Active fow control based on transonic design concepts. 17th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Norfolk, VA, US, 28 June – 1 July 1999.Google Scholar
6.Sobieczky, H., Geissler, W. and Hannemann, M.Expansion shoulder bump for wing section viscous/wave drag control. IUTAM Symposium on Mechanics of Passive and Active Flow Control, Fluid Mechanics and its Applications, Göttingen, Germany, 7-11 September 1998.Google Scholar
7.McGowan, A.-M.R.et al Aeroservoelastic And Structural Dynamics Research On Smart Structures Conducted At Nasa Langley Research Center, Proceedings Of Spie 3326, Smart Structures And Materials 1998: Industrial And Commercial Applications Of Smart Structures Technologies, 16 June 1998.Google Scholar
8.Wlezien, R.W.et al The aircraft morphing program. Proceedings of SPIE 3326, Smart Structures and Materials 1998: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies, 16 June 1998.Google Scholar
9.Stanewsky, E.Adaptive wing and flow control technology, Prog Aerospace Sci, October 2001, 37, (7), pp 583667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Gomez, J.C. and Garcia, E.Morphing unmanned aerial vehicles, Smart Materials and Structures, 2011, 20, (10), pp 116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Elzey, D.M., Sofla, A.Y. and Wadley, H.N. A bio-inspired high-authority actuator for shape morphing structures, Proceedings of SPIE 5053, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Active Materials: Behavior and Mechanics, 12 August 2003.Google Scholar
12.Weisshaar, T.A.Morphing Aircraft Technology – New Shapes for Aircraft Design. Multifunctional Structures /Integration of Sensors and Antennas. Meeting Proceedings RTO-MP-AVT-141, Overview 1. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 2006, pp O11 – O1-20.Google Scholar
13.Abdullah, E.J., Bil, C. and Watkins, S.Numerical simulation of an adaptive aerofoil system using SMA actuators, 48th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Orlando, Florida, US, 4-7 January 2010.Google Scholar
14.Pecora, R.et alDesign and functional test of a morphing high-lift device for a regional aircraft, J Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, July 2011, 22, pp 10051023.Google Scholar
15.Barbarino, S., Dettmer, W.G. and Friswell, M.I.Morphing Trailing Edges with Shape Memory Alloy Rods, 21st International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies (ICAST), University Park, Pennsylvania, 4-6 October, 2010.Google Scholar
16.Song, G. and Ma, N.Robust control of a shape memory alloy wire actuated flap, Smart materials and Structures, 2007 16, (6), pp N51N57.Google Scholar
17.Benavides, J.C. and Correa, G.Morphing wing design using nitinol wire, 2004, Intelligent Systems Center Research J, 3, (1), pp 139.Google Scholar
18.Seow, A.K., Liu, Y. and Yeo, W.K.Shape Memory Alloy as Actuator to Defect a Wing Flap, Proceedings of the 16th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, Schaumburg, IL, US, 7-10 April 2008, pp 111.Google Scholar
19.Mason, W.H., Robertshaw, H. and Inman, D.J.Recent experiments in aerospace and design engineering education, 42nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, US, 5-8 January 2004.Google Scholar
20.Barbarino, S.et alAerofoil morphing architecture, based on shape memory alloys, ASME 2008 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, Ellicott City, Maryland, US, 28–30 October 2008.Google Scholar
21.Abdullah, E.J., Bil, C. and Watkins, S.Application of smart materials for adaptive aerofoil control, 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Orlando, Florida, US, 5-8 January 2009.Google Scholar
22.Abdullah, E.J., Bil, C. and Watkins, S.Adaptive aerofoil control system using shape memory alloy actuators for unmanned aerial vehicles, Proceedings of the 21st Australasian Conference on the Mechanics of Structures and Materials: Incorporating Sustainable Practice in Mechanics of Structures and Materials, AK Leiden, The Netherlands, 7-10 December 2010, pp 141146.Google Scholar
23.Abdullah, E.J., Bil, C. and Watkins, S.Performance of Adaptive Aerofoil Control System Using Shape Memory Alloy Actuators for UAV, 11th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations (ATIO) Conference, Virginia Beach, VA, US, 20-22 September, 2011.Google Scholar
24.Hutapea, P.et al. Development of a smart wing, Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 2008, 80, (4), pp 439444.Google Scholar
25.Botez, R.M., Molaret, P. and Laurendeau, E.Laminar Flow Control on a Research Wing Project Presentation Covering a Three Year Period, CASI Aircraft Design and Development Symposium, Toronto, Canada, 24-26 April 2007.Google Scholar
26.Allison, D.O. and Dagenhart, J.R. Design of a laminar-flow-control supercritical aerofoil for a swept wing, CTOL Transport Technology, NASA Langley Research Center, 1978, pp 395408.Google Scholar
27.Tutty, O.R., Hackenberg, P. and Nelson, P.A.Numerical optimisation of the suction distribution for laminar fow control, AIAA J, 2008, 38, (2), 2000, pp 370372.Google Scholar
28.Pralits, J.O.Optimal design of natural and hybrid laminar flow control on wings, Technical Reports from Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanics, SE-100 44, Stockholm, Sweden, October 2003.Google Scholar
29.Rioual, J.-L., Nelson, P.A. and Fisher, M.J.Experiments on the automatic control of boundary-layer transition, J Aircraft, 1994, 31, (6), pp 14161418.Google Scholar
30.Dimino, I., Flauto, D., Diodati, G., Concilio, A. and Pecora, R.Actuation system design for a morphing wing trailing edge, Recent Patens on Mechanical Engineering, 2014, 7, pp 138148Google Scholar
31.Pecora, R., Magnifico, M., Amoroso, F. and Monaco, E.Multi-parametric flutter analysis of a morphing wing trailing edge, Aeronaut J, 2014, 118, (1207), pp 10631078CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Pecora, R., Amoroso, F., Amendola, G. and Concilio, A.Validation of a smart structural concept for wing-flap camber morphing, Smart Structures and Systems, 2014, 14, (4), pp 659678Google Scholar
33.Popov, A.V.et alClosed-loop control simulations on a morphing wing, J Aircraft, 2008, 45, (5), pp 17941803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34.Grigorie, T.L.et alSmart concepts for actuation system and its control in a morphing wing, Proceedings of the XXXIInd Caius Iacob National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and its Technical Applications, Bucharest, Romania, 29-30 September 2011.Google Scholar
35.Grigorie, T.L.et alOn–off and proportional–integral controller for a morphing wing. Part 1: Actuation mechanism and control design, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: J Aerospace Engineering, 2012, 226, (2), pp 131145.Google Scholar
36.Grigorie, T.L.et alOn-off and proportional–integral controller for a morphing wing. Part 2: Control validation–numerical simulations and experimental tests, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: J Aerospace Engineering, 2012, 226, (2), pp 146162.Google Scholar
37.Grigorie, T.L.et alA hybrid fuzzy logic proportional-integral-derivative and conventional on-off controller for morphing wing actuation using shape memory alloy. Part 1: Morphing system mechanisms and controller architecture design, Aeronaut J, 2012, 116, (1179), pp 433449.Google Scholar
38.Grigorie, T.L.et alA hybrid fuzzy logic proportional-integral-derivative and conventional on-off controller for morphing wing actuation using shape memory alloy, Part 2: Controller implementation and validation, Aeronaut J, 2012, 116, (1179), pp 451465.Google Scholar
39.Grigorie, T.L. and Botez, R.M.Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system-based controllers for smart material actuator modelling, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G: J Aerospace Engineering, 2009, 223, (6), pp 655668.Google Scholar
40.Grigorie, T. and Botez, R.M.New adaptive controller method for SMA hysteresis modelling of a morphing wing, Aeronaut J, 2010, 114, (1151).Google Scholar
41.Neal, D., Akle, B. and Hesse, T.Optimal flight control of an adaptive aircraft wing modelled by Neuro Fuzzy techniques, 2003 IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control, Houston, TX, US, 5-8 October 2003, pp 364370.Google Scholar
42.Kammegne, M.J.T.et alDesign and Validation of a Position Controller in the Price-Païdoussis Wind Tunnel. The 33rd IASTED International Conference on Modelling, Identifcation and Control (MIC 2014), Innsbruck, Austria, 17-19 February 2014.Google Scholar
43.Mosbah, A.B.et alNew methodology for wind tunnel calibration using neural networks-EGD approach, SAE Int J Aerospace, 2013, 6, (2), pp 761766.Google Scholar
44.Krishnan, R.Electric motor drives: modelling, analysis, and control, Prentice Hall, 2001.Google Scholar
45.Mohan, N.Power Electronics: A First Course, Wiley, 2012.Google Scholar
46.Irwin, J.et alControl in Power Electronics: Selected Problems, Academic press, 2002.Google Scholar
47.Leonhard, W.Control of Electrical Drives, Springer, 2001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
48.Bishop, R.H. and Dorf, R.C.Modern control systems, Prentice Hall College Division, 2004.Google Scholar
49.Krishnan, R.Permanent Magnet Synchronous and Brushless Dc Motor Drives, CRC press, 2010.Google Scholar
50.Baldursson, S.BLDC Motor Modelling and Control-A Matlab®/Simulink® Implementation, Master thesis, Electrical Power Engineering Department, Institutionen för Energi och Miljö, 2005.Google Scholar
51.Katsuhiko, O.Modern control Engineering, Prentice Hall, 2010.Google Scholar
52.Katsuhiko, O.Matlab for Control Engineers, Prentice-Hall, 2007.Google Scholar
53.Paraskevopoulos, P.Modern Control Engineering, CRC Press, 2001.Google Scholar