An adaptive control system for wing TE shape control

Abstract

A key technology to enable morphing aircraft for enhanced aerodynamic performance is the design of an adaptive control system able to emulate target structural shapes. This paper presents an approach to control the shape of a morphing wing by employing internal, integrated actuators acting on the trailing edge. The adaptive-wing concept employs active ribs, driven by servo actuators, controlled in turn by a dedicated algorithm aimed at shaping the wing cross section, according to a pre-defined geometry. The morphing control platform is presented and a suitable control algorithm is implemented in a dedicated routine for real-time simulations. The work is organized as follows. A finite element model of the uncontrolled, non-actuated structure is used to obtain the plant model for actuator torque and displacement control. After having characterized and simulated pure rotary actuator behavior over the structure, selected target wing shapes corresponding to rigid trailing edge rotations are achieved through both open-loop and closed-loop control logics.