Alexander M. Pankonien, James O. Hardin, Nitin Bhagat, Gregory W. Reich, John D. Berrigan
DOI Number: N/A
Conference number: IFASD-2017-151
3D-printing has enabled a new paradigm for the creation and testing of aeroelastic wind-tunnel testbeds with conventional rib/spar structural topologies that can produce complex coupled effects, such as flutter, within the speed constraints of conventional low-speed wind tunnels. This work focuses on the extension of additive manufacturing to enable nonconventional structural wing topologies such as those that leverage bio-mimetic, distributed sensing and actuation schemes. The tractability of complex topologies via additive processes is demonstrated by the development and fabrication of a morphing trailing edge control surface. This demonstrator utilizes a mixture of material moduli and geometric featuring to balance the appropriate control of stiffness with topological simplicity. The capability of automated additive processes is further shown to enable additional novel features such as arbitrary placement of integrated, stretchable conductors without radically increasing fabrication complexity. This wiring technique eliminates non-linear mechanical contact and attachment problems, which could limit the fidelity of dynamic models when actuating and sensing are incorporated within these testbeds. Finally, the potential impact of these processes on realizable morphing-wing designs driven by analysis is illustrated via parametric variation and production of variations of the demonstrator via a scripted geometric framework.