“Future Wings“ is an International Project co-financed by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme
“Think of an airplane as a great body with its end structures (wings, horizontal tail
surfaces, vertical tail surfaces) that could have the possibility to change their shape as
they had internal nerve endings and muscles ...”
The Project moves starting from a very simple concept: “let us think of an
airplane as a great body with its end structures that could have the possibility to
change their shape as they had internal nerve endings and muscles” ...
The aerodynamic shape of aircraft lifting surfaces must change during the flight,
owing to the aerodynamic requirements of the different maneuvers (ascent and
descent operations, yaw). Mobile surfaces are introduced in conventional wings to
this purpose (ailerons, flaps, slats etc.), introducing at the same time inevitably
additional weight, mechanisms, sources of vibrations and other known limits.
An interesting alternative to mobile surfaces could be represented by “self
shaping wings”, i.e. wings the surface of which can be elastically deformed
through its entire length, and managed in order to obtain the required lifting
profile. Such wing performances could be obtained through the application of
composite hybrid materials where layers of new generation of piezoelectric fibers are
drowned, and trigged by relatively low voltage.
Target of the research is the deep understanding of the technical feasibility and of
the limits of such an application. Depending on the results, “self shaping wings”
(or “Future Wings”) could be more deeply investigated and designed in order to
replace ailerons, slats, tail wings, rudders and, probably, even flaps: the
relevant technology could have really wide fields of applications.
“Wings of the
Future”
is a Collaborative
International
Project.
It has received
funding from the
EU 7th Framework
Programme under
GA n.335042.
The Project was
scored at the 2th
place in the
ranking list of the
funded Projects of
Call FP7-AAT-
2012-RTD-L0.
Preliminary examples of simulated specimens made of layers of metallic
material glued with piezoelectric active layers - element type: solid brick