Post-buckled precompressed (PBP) elements: A new class of flight control actuators enhancing high-speed autonomous VTOL MAVs

This paper describes a new class of flight control actuators using Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements. These actuators are designed to produce significantly higher deflection and force levels than conventional piezoelectric actuator elements. Classical laminate plate theory (CLPT) models are shown to work very well in...

Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric actuators for UAV flight control

This paper presents the use of a new class of flight control actuators employing Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements in morphing wing Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The new actuator relieson axial compression to amplify deflections and control forces simultaneously. Two designs employing morphingwing panels based on PBP...

Post-buckled precompressed elements: A new class of control actuators for morphing wing UAVs

Post-buckled precompressed (PBP) subsonic micro flight control actuators and surfaces

This paper describes a new class of flight control actuators using Post-Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements to provide much improved actuator performance. These PBP actuator elements are modeled using basic large deflection Euler-beam estimations accounting for laminated plate effects. The deflection estimations are then coupled...

Advanced control techniques for post-buckled precompressed (PBP) flight control actuators

The dynamic response of a new class of flight control actuators that rely on post-buckled recompressed (PBP) piezoelectric elements is investigated. While past research has proven that PBP actuators are capable of generating deflections three times higher than conventional bimorph actuators, this paper quantifies the work output and power...

Pressure adaptive honeycomb: A new adaptive structure for aerospace applications

A new type of adaptive structure is presented that relies on pressurized honeycomb cells that extent a significant length with respect to the plane of the hexagons. By varying the pressure inside each of the cells, the stiffness can be altered. A variable stiffness in combination with an externally applied force field results in a fully embedded...

Pressure Adaptive Honeycomb: Mechanics, Modeling, and Experimental Investigation

A new type of adaptive structure is presented that relies on a pressure derential to perform gross structural deformations. This structure relies on highly compliant honey-comb cells that can be pressurized externally or can rely on a pressure differential that exists at elevated altitudes. By pressurizing this honeycomb, its stiffness can be...

Pressure adaptive honeycomb: A new adaptive structure for aerospace applications

A new type of adaptive structure is presented that relies on pressurized honeycomb cells that extent a significant length with respect to the plane of the hexagons. By varying the pressure inside each of the cells, the stiffness can be altered. A variable stiffness in combination with an externally applied force field results in a fully embedded...

Topology Design of Pressure Adaptive Honeycomb for a Morphing Fowler Flap

A new method for designing a morphing Fowler flap based on pressure-adaptive honeycomb is detailed. Pressure adaptive honeycomb has been shown to be able to induce gross camber deformations in airfoil sections, such as a flap. However, due to the large amount of design variables the integration of the honeycomb as a distributed actuator in a...

Topology optimization of pressure adaptive honeycomb for a morphing flap

The paper begins with a brief historical overview of pressure adaptive materials and structures. By examining avian anatomy, it is seen that pressure-adaptive structures have been used successfully in the Natural world to hold structural positions for extended periods of time and yet allow for dynamic shape changes from one flight state to the...