You are here

Reduction of Structural Mass Fraction for Extreme Solar HALE Flying Wings

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Contract: W31P4Q-08-C-0071
Agency Tracking Number: 07SB2-0638
Amount: $99,000.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: SB072-044
Solicitation Number: 2007.2
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2007
Award Year: 2007
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2007-11-06
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2008-07-07
Small Business Information
656 22nd Street
San Diego, CA 92102
United States
DUNS: 141257688
HUBZone Owned: Yes
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: Yes
Principal Investigator
 Mauricio de Oliveira
 Program Manager
 (858) 342-2517
 mauricio.deoliveira@eristech.com
Business Contact
 Shayan Alam
Title: Technical Director
Phone: (858) 342-2517
Email: shayan.alam@eristech.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

This topic seeks a new technology for very low mass wings for HALE aircraft. Our target is a wing weighing less than 0.5 lbs/sqft of wing area. We propose to demonstrate the feasibility of using tensegrity technology to build wings that can meet the weight objectives while satisfying HALE requirements for performance and robustness under expected operational conditions. Tensegrity structures are a connected network of rods in compression and strings in tension. Very low mass/strength ratios are a fundamental property of such structures. Also, feedback control systems allow dynamic manipulation of rod lengths and string tensions for adaptive morphing of the structure to meet changing requirements and loading conditions. While the tensegrity concept has been known for a long time, practical application is enabled by our success in developing the analytical and computational tools needed for the structural design and optimization.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

US Flag An Official Website of the United States Government