Description: Field of Invention
The invention pertains to deflect Leading edge and Trailing edge of the wing and generate additional lift without any high lift devices.
Background of the Invention
An aircraft that changes its geometric properties during flight to improve performance is known as a morphing aircraft. The chord, thickness, area, curvature, aspect ratio, and span are all examples of shape changes in a morphing wing. Hinges can be eliminated from the control surfaces with the use of morphing technology. These aircraft change their geometric properties during flight to adjust to the changing mission environment which makes them a multi-role aircraft. This results in enhanced system capabilities that would not be achievable without the use of morphing shape modifications. The purpose of the morphing operations is to generate multiple-regime, aerodynamically efficient, and shape-changing aero-vehicles by developing the wings which can drastically change shape during flight. Morphing aircrafts are becoming more competitive than conventional aircraft as more mission roles are added to their requirements.

Through research and observation, it is found that, during flight conditions, birds change their wing geometry depending on their environment and to perform certain manoeuvres. For example, the wing geometry of a bird, named ‘peregrine falcon’, changes from cruise to landing in order to increase its speed while catching a prey. The conversion of wing geometry helps the bird in the reduction of drag and increases the overall aerodynamic efficiency which translates to an increase in fuel efficiency in aircrafts. Through the morphing-wing technology, the behaviour of aircrafts and birds can be very similar, which in return helps in increasing the performance of the aircrafts. Wing morphing can be done in various ways. Such as, Variable wing span, Variable wing sweep, Chord morphing, Chord wise bending and Wing twist morphing. The deformation of the thickness requires large control of the air load resistance and overcome the stiffness of the structure. However the mechanism must enhance both force and deflection by considering the low weight and low power consumption.

Mechanism of morphing wing are known in the prior art. For instance US20150251747A1 discloses the operation of morphing wing mechanism. The mechanism has mounting morphing beam at the trailing edge to change the shape of a wing. Morphing beam comprises of two portions one is made up of smart material and other made up of elastic material. In addition to the mechanism, actuators are placed to actuate the smart and elastic material of the morphing beam which in turn changes the chord length of the wing. Vortex is generated near to the trailing edge due to the absence of morphing techniques at the leading edge is the drawback noted in the above invention. The same problem was noted in most of the prior art. US8262032B2 discloses the operation of morphing mechanism which can able to overcome the previous drawbacks. However, the change in thickness to chord ratio is very negligible when compared with other morphing techniques.
Accordingly, there is a need for a morphing mechanism to change the shapes of chord length with minimum vortex generation at the trailing edge. The present invention overcome these problems observed in the prior art and discloses herein the operation of morphing wing with gear rod mechanism.
Summary of the Invention
The main objective of our invention is defining the deflection at both leading edge and trailing edge by using a gear and rod mechanism. It contains the corrugated part which is used to deflect upwards and downwards along with the leading and trailing edges.
As we conclude this morphing wing eliminate the need of multiple and expensive mission specific aircraft. The model will increase aircraft performance in different flight phases such as Maximum speed, fuel consumption, manoeuvrability, carrying capacity, range and stability.
Brief Description of Drawings
The invention will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the figure wherein:
Figure 1 Pictorial representation of Morphing Wing Using Gear-Rod Mechanism
Detailed Description of the Invention
The model is the design of a camber wing, in order to get the deflection of leading edge and trailing edge of the wing a “gear-rod mechanism” is used. At the leading edge, one end of the rod is connected to the leading-edge surface of the wing and the other end is connected to the main mechanical gear.
The main gear wheel is powered by a motor to rotate both in clockwise direction and anticlockwise direction. Another rod is connected from the main mechanical gear wheel to the rear mechanical gear wheel. The rotational energy is transferred from the main mechanical gear wheel to the rear mechanical gear wheel through this rod and hence, makes the rear mechanical gear wheel rotate in the same direction as the main mechanical gear wheel. There is a connection of rod between the rear mechanical gear wheel to the trailing edge’s hinge point. Overall, when the main gear wheel rotates in clockwise direction, the rod pulls the leading edge surface inwards and the leading edge of the wing deflects in the downwards direction. At the same time, the rear mechanical gear wheel rotates clockwise and the trailing edge is pulled in upward direction.
The same mechanism repeats in reverse in an anticlockwise direction for downward direction. We have used four corrugated surfaces on the wing, two at the leading edge and the other two at the trailing edge. These corrugated surfaces contrast or expand depending on the way of deflection of the wing. The corrugated part plays an important role in the morphing wing mechanism as it helps the wing to increase and decrease the camber.
The flexibility of the corrugated part helps the wing in prevention of fracture and thus, allowing the wing to change its geometric properties. However, due to the wrinkles formed by the morphing wing, there is a lot of surface irregularity, which results in the increase in drag. But considering the advantages, the wing is corrugated partially and we are finding a solution to overcome the extra drag in those particular regions.
The rpm of the motor is set for the desired angle of attack for both leading edge and trailing edge of the wing. The rotational angle of the mechanical gear wheels is directly proportional to the angle of attack of the wing. By setting the most efficient angle at the leading edge with respective to the free stream, the leading edge vortices can be prevented due to the attached flow conditions of the wing. A uniform deflection of the whole leading edge will help in avoiding the boundary layer separation along the chord length and prevent the vortex formation at the trailing edge. The wing's materials must be able to withstand a variety of compressive, tensile, shear, and impact loads, as well as twisting. And there are just a handful of materials that fit the criteria i.e., Thermoplastic polyurethanes, Co polyester elastomer, Shape memory polymer, Woven textiles constructed of elastomeric yarns and piezoelectric ceramics are the materials in question. These materials possess the following properties: elastic, flexible, high recovery, weather resistance, high hardness number to cope with aerodynamic loads, high energy density, and easy of control.
With the availability of the material which possess the properties mentioned above, to withstand the twisting, compressive and tensile loads, the geometric size of the corrugated region can be reduced or avoided which can increase the aerodynamic efficiency to a greater extent. Therefore, a suitable material is still needed to replace the corrugated parts with a skin like structure to decrease the boundary layer separated at those regions.
3 Claims & 1 Figure , Claims: The scope of the invention is described via the following claims:

Claim:
1. A morphing wing gear rod mechanism comprising:
a) A Corrugated part (A) which can able to expand and contracts, and helps in deflection of leading edge and trailing edge of the wing and a connecting rod (B) helps in connecting two parts together such as the wing hinge and the mechanical gear wing.)
b) A main mechanical gear wheel (C) in contact with the connecting rod (B) powered by a motor capable to rotates in, both, clockwise and anticlockwise directions.
c) A rear mechanical gear wheel (D) rotates in, both, clockwise and anticlockwise directions which is mainly used for the deflection of the trailing edge of the wing and a hinge support (E) is used for the upward and downward movement of the trailing edge.
2. As mentioned in claim 1, the corrugated part is (A) attached to the wing skin with the help of a mounting assembly and the gears (C) and (D) are attached to the motor which is rigidly fixed to the vertical arms. The rod (B) connected from the leading edge to the main mechanical gear (C) is attached with nut and bolt.
3. As mentioned in claim 1, deflection of leading edge helps in the prevention of leading edge vortices and helps in attached flow conditions of the wing. A uniform deflection of whole leading edge will help in avoiding the formation of local regions of vortex separation at the trailing edge.