Retractable composite material wing
The retractable wing, designed with flexible composite materials and elastic connecting layers, solves the problem of mechanically folding wings not being able to be fully retracted, achieving lightweight and structurally simple wing retraction and deployment, suitable for small aircraft.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- BEIHANG UNIV
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-03
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing mechanically folding wings cannot be fully retracted at long span and chord lengths, and their complex drive systems increase weight.
It adopts a flexible composite material and elastic connection layer design, and the wings are housed by rolling up and rely on their own elastic strain energy to recover and unfold, eliminating the need for a drive system.
It achieves efficient storage of large wingspans, reduces storage space requirements, simplifies the structure, and reduces weight and cost.
Smart Images
Figure CN122059068A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of aerospace structural design, and in particular to a retractable composite material wing. Background Technology
[0002] In space-constrained environments, wing folding design becomes crucial for improving space utilization. This is especially true in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), where wing structures need to minimize space occupation when not in use, facilitating storage and transportation. Currently, the most common folding mechanism is mechanical folding, which folds the wing into the fuselage or to the sides in a fixed configuration. While mechanical folding wings effectively save space, when the wing span and chord length are long, the wing cannot be fully retracted due to fuselage space limitations. Furthermore, mechanical folding mechanisms are typically complex, requiring additional drive systems, which not only increases structural complexity but also leads to increased aircraft weight. Therefore, this invention provides a retractable composite material wing that can be retracted for storage when not in use, thereby reducing space occupation. Moreover, the wing can return from a retracted state to an extended state solely through its own elastic strain energy, offering advantages such as simple structure and light weight. Summary of the Invention
[0003] 1. Purpose of the invention: The purpose of this invention is to provide a retractable composite material wing that is lightweight and has a large deformation capacity. It can be retracted by rolling and can be restored to its extended state by its own elastic strain energy.
[0004] 2. The technical solution adopted in this invention is as follows: a rollable composite material wing is composed of upper and lower flexible composite material skins and an elastic connecting layer; the connection relationship of the above components is as follows: (1) a horizontal edge of a certain length is provided at the trailing edge of the wing, and the upper and lower flexible composite material skins are bonded together through the horizontal edge; (2) the elastic connecting layer is located at the leading edge of the wing and tightly bonds the upper and lower flexible composite material skins; the flexible composite material skin has a large deformation capacity, the wing can be rolled up and can be unfolded by relying on the strain energy stored during the rolling deformation; the cross section of the rollable wing is symmetrical from top to bottom.
[0005] The flexible composite material skin is a unidirectional tape laminate made of carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber and boron fiber, or a woven material sheet made of carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber and boron fiber.
[0006] The elastic bonding layer is made of carbon fiber fabric, aramid fabric and aramid composite material.
[0007] 3. The advantages and effects of the present invention are as follows: The retractable composite wing described in the present invention provides a new solution for the folding and storage of small aircraft wings. Through the curling of the wing, the storage of wings with large span and chord length can be achieved, significantly reducing the storage space requirements of the aircraft. After the wing is stored, it can be restored to the unfolded state relying on its own elastic strain energy, without a complex drive system, with a simple structural design, reducing weight and cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Figure 1 It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wing.
[0009] Figure 2 It is a side view schematic of the wing in the unfolded state.
[0010] Figure 3 It is a side view schematic of the wing in the partially retracted state around the reel.
[0011] Figure 4 It is a side view schematic of the wing in the fully retracted state around the reel.
[0012] Figure 1 In the figures: 1. Flexible composite upper skin, 2. Flexible composite lower skin, 3. Elastic connection layer, 4. Horizontal edge.
[0013] Figure 3 In the figures: 5. Reel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0014] The following further describes the present invention with reference to the drawings and embodiments.
[0015] The retractable composite wing of the present invention is composed of a flexible composite upper skin 1, a flexible composite lower skin 2, and an elastic connection layer 3. The cross-sectional shape of the retractable wing is as Figure 1 shown, with the cross-section being symmetric up and down, and half of the cross-sectional contour line being in the shape of a "⌒".
[0016] A horizontal edge 4 is provided at the trailing edge of the wing. The flexible composite upper skin 1 and the flexible composite lower skin 2 are bonded through the horizontal edge 4; an elastic connection layer 3 is bonded inside the leading edge of the wing, and the flexible composite upper skin 1 and the flexible composite lower skin 2 are joined through the elastic connection layer 3 at the leading edge position. The flexible composite skins 1 and 2 are unidirectional tape laminated thin plates made of carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber, and boron fiber or woven material thin plates made of carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber, and boron fiber; the elastic connection layer 3 is made of carbon fiber fabric, aramid fabric, and aramid composite material.
[0017] Figure 2This is a side view of the retractable wing in its fully deployed state. The flexible composite upper skin 1 and flexible composite lower skin 2 provide the wing with a certain out-of-plane stiffness. The overall shape of the wing is stable after deployment, meeting the aerodynamic shape requirements under flight conditions.
[0018] By applying external force to flatten or compress one end of the wing, the composite material wing is rolled up using a reel 5. Figure 3 This is a side view of a retractable wing in a partially retracted state. Figure 4 This is a side view of the retractable wing in its fully retracted state. The flexible retractable wing of this invention undergoes elastic deformation during both retraction and deployment. An external force is applied to cause the wing to curl and deform, and when deployment is needed, the elastic strain energy stored during the curling and deformation is utilized to complete the deployment.
Claims
1. A retractable composite material wing, characterized in that: It is composed of a flexible composite upper skin (1), a flexible composite lower skin (2) and an elastic connecting layer (3); the connection relationship of the above components is as follows: a horizontal edge (4) of a certain length is provided at the trailing edge of the wing, and the flexible composite upper skin (1) and the flexible composite lower skin (2) are bonded together through the horizontal edge; the elastic connecting layer (3) is located at the leading edge of the wing and tightly bonds the flexible composite upper skin (1) and the flexible composite lower skin (2); the flexible composite upper and lower skins (1, 2) have large deformation capabilities, the wing can be folded up by rolling, and can be unfolded by relying on the strain energy stored during the rolling deformation; the cross section of the rollable wing is symmetrical from top to bottom.
2. The retractable composite material wing according to claim 1, wherein the flexible composite material upper skin (1) and the flexible composite material lower skin (2) are characterized in that: Unidirectional tape laminates made of carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber and boron fiber, or woven material sheets made of carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber and boron fiber.
3. The retractable composite material wing according to claim 1, wherein the elastic connecting layer (3) is characterized in that: It is made of carbon fiber fabric, aramid fabric and aramid composite material.