Design Considerations for a Strain Actuated Adaptive Wing for Aeroelastic Control

The dominant issues in the preliminary design of a strain actuated aeroelastic wing are examined. First, the scaling parameter for piezoelectric actuation authority is obtained and used to extrapolate strain actuation variables from an earlier model. Second, the interaction of composite fiber angle and geometric sweep angle is studied, specifically the effect of these parameters on the passive aeroelastic behavior and potential closedloop actuation authority. Finally, a taper ratio trade is completed to understand the effect of varying taper ratio on the passive and active aeroelastic characteristics.