Morphing Aircraft Structures: Research in AFRL/RB

Abstract : This report reviews research in several different areas related to morphing aircraft structures undertaken in AFRL/RBSA. The first is an aeroelastic analysis of a folding-wing vehicle to determine the flutter boundaries of the wing at different fold angles. The second is the development of a simulation tool to study both the flight stability of a morphing vehicle during the morphing process, and the kinematic stability of the morphing mechanism subject to aerodynamic and inertial loads. The third is a series of first-order analyses to determine the system-level benefits of morphing at the mission, sortie, and campaign levels.