An approach to morphing structure control based on real-time displacement reconstruction

Shape morphing structures are a key technology for the next generation of aerospace vehicles, facilitating adaptive performance based on their operational environment. This paper introduces a novel framework for morphing monitoring and control based on the inverse problem of reconstructing structural displacements using in-situ strain-sensor data, referred to as shape sensing. The inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM) is the inverse methodology employed, where the structure is discretised using a series of finite elements, and the displacements are reconstructed by minimizing a functional defined as the least-squares error between experimental and analytically defined strains. At each time step, the morphing actuation load is calculated by minimising the least-squares error between the desired and iFEM reconstructed nodal displacements. Real-time assessment of shape or displacement over the entire structural domain is expected to produce more accurate and efficient morphing performance. This novel control strategy is demonstrated numerically for the case of a morphing wing aircraft, where the shape of the wing section is controlled using a distributed set of actuators. The morphing performance in controlling the wing camber is investigated, and the effect of the number of actuators used is also studied. The preliminary numerical results demonstrate efficient control performance with the potential for further improvement.