Yep... reminds meme of a meme.
Posted on 04/02/2019 6:55:52 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Instead of requiring separate movable surfaces such as ailerons to control the roll and pitch of the plane, as conventional wings do, the new assembly system makes it possible to deform the whole wing, or parts of it, by incorporating a mix of stiff and flexible components in its structure. The tiny subassemblies, which are bolted together to form an open, lightweight lattice framework, are then covered with a thin layer of similar polymer material as the framework.
The result is a wing that is much lighter... than those with conventional designs, whether made from metal or composites, the researchers say. Because the structure, comprising thousands of tiny triangles of matchstick-like struts, is composed mostly of empty space, it forms a mechanical "metamaterial" that combines the structural stiffness of a rubber-like polymer and the extreme lightness and low density of an aerogel.
Jenett explains that for each of the phases of a flight—takeoff and landing, cruising, maneuvering and so on—each has its own, different set of optimal wing parameters, so a conventional wing is necessarily a compromise that is not optimized for any of these, and therefore sacrifices efficiency. A wing that is constantly deformable could provide a much better approximation of the best configuration for each stage.
While it would be possible to include motors and cables to produce the forces needed to deform the wings, the team has taken this a step further and designed a system that automatically responds to changes in its aerodynamic loading conditions by shifting its shape—a sort of self-adjusting, passive wing-reconfiguration process.
This is all accomplished by the careful design of the relative positions of struts with different amounts of flexibility or stiffness, designed so that the wing, or sections of it, bend in specific ways in response to particular kinds of stresses.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Hey by all means research it, develop it and test it. However if the software in your car fails, it might just stop running. If the software on a complex jet that controls not only the avionics but wing structure malfunctions, that mass up the air obeys the laws of physics and falls to the ground. People die. Read the news lately?
Ya beat me to it. Folks should understand what it is before they crap all over it.
In the natural world, any birdbrain can do it.
So there's hope. :)
This has been happening with windsurfing racing sails for years. They have always been adjustable and you can change the shape of the sail (which is essentially a high tech wing) on the fly simply by tightening or loosening the outhaul lines.
If we stopped flying planes after every mechanical or software design screwup, we’d have the New Green Deal!
Engineers change things to keep themselves employed. It is not better just different.
I would think this could be useful for de icing also. Like the flexible ice cube trays.
I’m pretty sure you’re wright.
Great idea for getting rid of Blue Ice from aircraft. I pity those on the ground.
Wet wing?.. (hmm), or will it use bladders for fuel tanks? (No I didn’t go to the link)
Birds have been doing that for centuries.
Oh please you misunderstand. By all means research, develop, manufacture and deploy. Just allow 1,000,000 others use the product many times before personally indulging. Silly notion but take the laws of physics seriously.
FedGov will mandate hard hats in all flight path locations.
That was my first thought — wing warping returns.
It proved an evolutionary dead end the first time out. I believe it was Glenn Curtiss who did most of the pioneering work on the control system that has lasted a century with no end in sight.
Wing Warping. That is so Wright!
Computers don’t pilot birds.
Computers are not detached from reality of the world. Their sensor work.
It is possible to fly planes with computers? Yes. It is practical and or safe? At this point, I’m not convinced.
I talk to idiots all the time who think autopilot cars really work. Meaning that no one needs to be in control. Insane.
Detachment from the real world is a dangerous place to be.
That is exactly what computers are doing to USA as a nation and to the world. Computer do not represent reality.
God is still in control.
Please note the Chinese spy in the picture collecting information.
I’m not bashing anything or anybody.
The principle was first put forward by the Wright Brothers, as ‘wing warping’. Glenn Curtis invented ailerons and flaps to get around the Wright Bros patent on wing warping......
Yep... reminds meme of a meme.
“The fact that most aircraft are the same shape”—essentially a tube with wings—”is because of expense. It’s not always the most efficient shape.”
Very interesting article.
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