Reinforced Cellular Structure Morphing Skin

In the current study a compliant reinforced cellular structure covered with an elastomer composite is investigated as a morphing skin for a four degrees of freedom modular morphing wing. The kinematic requirements of the skin... [ view full abstract ]

In the current study a compliant reinforced cellular structure covered with an elastomer composite is investigated as a morphing skin for a four degrees of freedom modular morphing wing. The kinematic requirements of the skin are evaluated based on the range of motion of the morphing wing. These kinematic demands in conjunction with other essentials skin requirements, imposed guidelines for the designing process of the skin. An accordion mesh with a zero-Poisson ratio is used as a substructure for the skin. This mesh will allow motion along the span-wise direction while reinforcing rods are inserted along the chord-wise direction to ensure a sufficient out-of-plane stiffness for the cellular structure. Both numerical and analytical analyses are used to optimize the design of the mesh as well as the dimensions of the reinforcing structures. An elastomer composite layer is then integrated to the reinforced mesh to act as a sealant that fulfills the thermal and chemical requirements of the skin. Numerical simulations and primarily experimental test have shown promising results for a viable four degrees of freedom morphing skin.