Flex-Skins Using Cellular Cores (XSCL)

Morphing aircraft structures have been under focused development over the last five years, primarily under DARPA and Air Force sponsorship. NextGen has been a leader in this effort; prior and on-going work by the NextGen team has identified significant technology barriers which need fundamental understanding as well as innovative solutions. Key among these is the development of skins which have in-plane strain capabilities of around 100% to permit large changes in wing area, low in-plane moduli which will result in reasonable actuation force requirements, and high effective overall bending stiffness to provide efficient aerodynamic shape. To meet these requirements, NextGen and Penn State University propose to develop new morphing skin designs based on flexible cellular cores with tailor-able geometry and material properties. We will build upon the work done by Prof. Farhan Gandhi, PSU PI who has developed fundamental understanding of flexible cellular core structures. In Phase 1 the NextGen/PSU team will finalize concepts, conduct trade studies using simple models, optimize the design using high-fidelity finite element analyses, and fabricate a proof-of-concept morphing skin demonstration article. In a Phase 2 program the team will conduct detailed design addressing substructure attachment and integration within a morphing wing