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Performing co-ordinated turns with articulated wing-tips as multi-axis control effectors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2016

P. Bourdin ,
A. Gatto  and
M. I. Friswell
P. Bourdin
Affiliation:
University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
A. Gatto
Affiliation:
Alvin.Gatto@brunel.ac.uk, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK
M. I. Friswell
Affiliation:
Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Abstract

This paper investigates a novel method for the control of aircraft. The concept consists of articulated split wing-tips, independently actuated and mounted on a baseline flying wing. The general philosophy behind the concept was that adequate control of a flying wing about its three axes could be obtained through local modifications of the dihedral angle at the wing-tips, thus providing an alternative to conventional control effectors such as elevons and drag rudders. Preliminary computations with a vortex lattice model and subsequent wind tunnel tests and Navier-Stokes computations demonstrate the viability of the concept for co-ordinated turns, with individual and/or combined wing-tip deflections producing multi-axis, coupled control moments. The multi-axis nature of the generated moments tends to over-actuate the flight control system, leading to some redundancy, which could be exploited to optimise secondary objective functions such as drag or bending moment.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 114 , Issue 1151 , January 2010 , pp. 35 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2010 

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