Parametric Evaluation of Morphed Wing Effectiveness

Recently, continuous improvements in aircraft manoeuvrability and fuel consumption reduction have led researchers to investigate additional wing configurations based on morphing concepts. Morphing is also a potential solution for noise level reduction and may therefore represent an additional benefit. The advantages of morph-type schemes over traditional control surfaces during specific manoeuvres become a key parameter in the preliminary design stage. In this work, three types of airfoil morphing applied to a typical basic wing are considered and analysed: leading-edge morphing, trailing-edge morphing, and rib twist. The aerodynamic performance of each configuration is evaluated through a numerical procedure combining a panel method and a vortex lattice method. Drag reduction in morphed versus conventional wings under identical flight conditions is quantified, allowing the identification of the most efficient configuration. The analyses consider both roll manoeuvres and high-lift flight phases by evaluating changes in design parameters—such as chord-wise hinge positions, span-wise morph distribution, and morphing angles—which are compared and discussed. For the rolling manoeuvre, increasing the span-wise morphing region improves drag reduction, but not by more than 5%. When shifting the hinge position from 60% to 80% of the chord, similar drag reduction levels can be achieved, although the required morph angle differs under the same conditions. The effect of different drag components is also assessed, showing that the induced drag component is predominant for low aspect ratio wings, whereas parasite drag becomes significant at higher aspect ratios. Optimal geometrical configurations are presented and discussed for both manoeuvres. For the rolling, hinge positions yielding typical rolling moment coefficients (i.e., −0.05, −0.06, and −0.08) lie between 65% and 75% of the chord, with span-wise morphing ranges 40% < yrib < 60% producing drag reduction up to 40% compared with a conventional wing. For the high-lift conditions, configurations between 65% < xhinge < 80% and 50% < yrib < 90% allow a drag reduction which can go up to 60%. Another beneficial effect is also observed for the yawing moment coefficient Cn with a reduction of more than 20% for larger aileron surfaces.