Antagonistic shape memory alloy wire as an actuator in a morphing wing

Abstract

© 2018, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.Morphing wings can optimize their performance during the whole mission profile. Using a morphing wing can make landing speeds lower and flying safer, make wings produce less noise and drag and reduce fuel consumption. This paper describes how a morphing wing is designed, constructed and tested. Table tests show a significant change in air profile is achieved within 1 second of actuation. Wind tunnel tests show that morphing the wing shifts the Cl − α graph. This means that morphing the wing performs the same function as actuating a flap. Therefore, using SMA wire to create a morphing wing is possible and it is proven that morphing wings provide benefits over a normal wing.