Morphing aircraft concepts aim to enhance the aircraft performance over multiple missions by designing time variant wing configurations. The morphing concepts require wing skins that are flexible enough to allow large in-plane stretching and high bending stiffness to resist the aerodynamic loads. In this study, an optimization problem is formed to enhance the in-plane flexibility and bending stiffness of wing skins modeled as composite plates. Initially, the optimal fiber and elastomer materials for highly flexible fiber reinforced elastomer laminates are studied using materials available in the literature. The minor Poisson’s ratio of the laminate is almost zero for all the fiber and elastomer combinations. In the next stage, the effects of boundary conditions and aspect ratio on the out-of-plane deflection of the laminate are studied. Finally, an optimization is performed to minimize the in-plane stiffness and maximize the bending stiffness by spatially varying the volume fraction of fibers of a laminate. The optimization results show that the in-plane flexibility and bending stiffness of the laminate with a variable fiber distribution is 30–40% higher than for the uniform fiber distribution.
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ASME 2011 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems
September 18–21, 2011
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Aerospace Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5471-6
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Optimal Design of Elastomer Composites for Morphing Skins
Senthil Murugan,
Senthil Murugan
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Eric I. Saavedra Flores,
Eric I. Saavedra Flores
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Michael I. Friswell,
Michael I. Friswell
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Sondipon Adhikari
Sondipon Adhikari
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Senthil Murugan
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
Eric I. Saavedra Flores
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
Michael I. Friswell
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
Sondipon Adhikari
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
Paper No:
SMASIS2011-5021, pp. 551-560; 10 pages
Published Online:
February 7, 2012
Citation
Murugan, S, Saavedra Flores, EI, Friswell, MI, & Adhikari, S. "Optimal Design of Elastomer Composites for Morphing Skins." Proceedings of the ASME 2011 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems. ASME 2011 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, Volume 1. Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. September 18–21, 2011. pp. 551-560. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/SMASIS2011-5021
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