Investigation of different morph wing configurations for the rolling maneuver

Wing design in the la decades directed efforts and studies to improve the performance allowing fuel reduction which implies sustainability, ecological solutions and reduction of operational costs for air transportation. Efficient design with a morph wing can fulfill such objectives. Different concepts of morph wing have been investigated in this study which proposes different wing configurations aim to improve the performance of the aircraft, in particular for the rolling maneuver. The assessment is performed by using an aerodynamic analysis based on a low fidelity 2D method such as the panel method, in combination with a 3D analysis using vortex method. The main morph wing concept is based on the constant morph of a part of the wing tip which has the aim of acting as a control surface hence as a substitution of the aileron for the rolling maneuver. The twist will then be applied linearly decreasing to the centre of the wing. Within this concept three main configurations were evaluated: one with the twist of the rib, a second with the twist of the aileron which profile is changing according to a curvilinear law based on two morph angles and a third where both trailing edge and leading edge are morphed. A comparison with a correspondent aileron configuration at the same rolling moment coefficient showed an advantage of the morph wing in terms of drag coefficient and among the morph types the rib twist resulted the most advantageous. It is also noteworthy that a morph deflection lower than 10deg. will produce the same rolling moment coefficient of a typical small aircraft aileron deflection which has a maximum of 25deg. Moreover parametric analyses showed an optimum of the span wise length of the morph aileron which is around 60% of the wing span. Another aspect, using the morph wing is a smoother distribution of the lift in the span wise direction in comparison with a conventional aileron configuration which implies a smoother approach to stall conditions that can be beneficial for the pilot.