Aircraft element with controlled geometry of aerodynamic surfaces
By installing piezoelectric cells with variable orientation angles on elastic layers to form a composite active layer, the range of torsional-flexural deformations is expanded, allowing more precise control over aircraft aerodynamic surfaces, thus improving flight performance.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- RU · RU
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- FEDERALNOE GOSUDARSTVENNOE AVTONOMNOE OBRAZOVATELNOE UCHREZHDENIE VYSSHEGO OBRAZOVANIYA PERMSKIJ NATSIONALNYJ ISSLEDOVATELSKIJ POLITEKHNICHESKIJ UNIV
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-30
AI Technical Summary
Existing aircraft components with piezoelectric actuators have a limited working range of controlled torsional-flexural deformations, restricting the range of control over their aerodynamic surfaces.
The installation of piezoelectric cells with variable orientation angles of interdigital IDE electrodes on elastic layers, forming a supporting composite active layer, which induces controlled torsional-flexural deformations to enhance the range of geometry control on aircraft components.
This configuration significantly increases the operating range of controlled deformations, thereby improving the control over the geometry of aerodynamic surfaces, enhancing flight performance.
Smart Images
Figure 00000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] The invention relates to the field of manufacturing aircraft components, in particular wings, flaps, elevators and rudders, propeller blades of aircraft with controlled geometry of aerodynamic surfaces to reduce noise and vibrations of the skin while simultaneously improving the flight mode and line.
[0002] The closest design of the same purpose to the claimed invention in terms of a combination of features is the design of a helicopter propeller blade (RU patent No. 2841110, published on June 2, 2025), containing load-bearing elastic upper and lower blade skins, piezoelectric drives on the upper and / or lower skins, the piezoelectric drives are made in the form of film piezoelectric actuators made of a piezoelectric layer with surface interdigital IDE electrodes with outputs for connecting a control electrical voltage to them. The piezoelectric actuators are made in the form of piezoelectric cells with variable values of the orientation angle of the interdigital electrodes to the base of the cell, wherein the piezoelectric cells are installed on the surfaces of the skin with a given orientation of their interdigital electrodes to the bases of the cells and / or the contour of the skin.Piezoelectric cells are mounted on the skin in a predetermined, optimal manner, for example, with a dense tetragonal arrangement of rectangular cells and predetermined optimal orientation angles of interdigitated electrodes within the cells, taking into account their locations on the skin and their overall intended purpose. Control of the aerodynamic surface geometry of the helicopter blade-shaped aircraft component is achieved through torsional and flexural deformations of the blade when the same overall value or individual values of control voltage are applied to the piezoelectric cell electrode outputs. The piezoelectric cells are activated simultaneously or independently of one another. This aircraft component design has been adopted as a prototype.
[0003] The features of the prototype that coincide with the essential features of the claimed invention are elastic upper and lower skins of the aircraft element, piezoelectric actuators in the form of piezoelectric cells with variable values of the orientation angle of interdigital IDE electrodes with outputs for connecting to the electrodes of a control electric voltage; the piezoelectric cells are installed in an optimal manner for the entire set of cells with optimal orientation angles of their interdigital electrodes, taking into account the locations of the cells and the general purpose of the aircraft element; control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the aircraft element is carried out as a result of its torsional-flexural deformations when connecting to the outputs of the electrodes of the piezoelectric cells of the same general value or individual values of the control electric voltage, wherein the piezoelectric cells are put into action simultaneously or independently of one another.
[0004] A disadvantage of the known design adopted as a prototype is the small working range of controlled torsional-flexural deformations of the aircraft element and, as a consequence, the small range of control of the geometry of its aerodynamic surfaces due to the installation of piezoelectric cells (with relatively small values of their resulting “working” deformation piezomoduli) on the surfaces of the skins at a distance from the hypothetical neutral layer and / or torsion axis (centers of gravity of the cross sections) of the aircraft element.
[0005] The technical result that the invention is aimed at achieving is an increase in the operating range of controlled torsional-flexural deformations of an aircraft element and, as a consequence, an increase in the range of control of the geometry of its aerodynamic surfaces.
[0006] The specified technical result is achieved by the fact that in the known aircraft element with controlled geometry of aerodynamic surfaces, containing elastic upper and lower skins of the aircraft element, piezoelectric drives in the form of piezoelectric cells with variable values of the orientation angle of interdigital IDE electrodes with outputs for connecting to the electrodes of a control electric voltage;
[0007] The piezoelectric cells are installed in an optimal manner for the entire set of cells with optimal orientation angles of their interdigitated electrodes, taking into account the locations of the cells and the general purpose of the aircraft element;
[0008] control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of an aircraft element is carried out as a result of its torsional-flexural deformations when connecting the same general value or individual values of the control electrical voltage to the outputs of the electrodes of piezoelectric cells, while the piezoelectric cells are put into action simultaneously or independently of each other, according to the invention
[0009] includes an elastic layer, on one or both surfaces of which piezoelectric cells with specified orientations of the directions of the interdigital electrodes are installed, with the formation of a supporting composite active layer with controlled torsional-flexural deformations, which cause deformation and, as a result, control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins of the aircraft element.
[0010] The elastic layer and / or the supporting composite active layer and / or the upper and / or lower skins of the aircraft element can be made curved.
[0011] Piezoelectric cells can be round, hexagonal or rectangular in shape and can be installed in a dense hexagonal or tetragonal packing pattern respectively.
[0012] It is advisable to place the load-bearing composite active layer between the upper and lower skins of the aircraft element near its hypothetical neutral layer and / or the torsion axis (centers of gravity of the cross sections) of the aircraft element.
[0013] It is advisable to minimize the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of both skins of an aircraft element (within the limits of physically and structurally permissible values) relative to the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of the load-bearing composite active layer.
[0014] The supporting composite active layer can be combined with one of the skins of the aircraft element.
[0015] The aircraft element may include two identical load-bearing composite active layers that are combined with both skins of the aircraft element.
[0016] The features of the claimed technical solution, distinctive from the prototype, include an elastic layer, on one or both surfaces of which piezoelectric cells with given orientations of the directions of the interdigital electrodes are mounted, with the formation of a load-bearing composite active layer with controlled torsional-flexural deformations, which cause deformation and, as a result, control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins of the aircraft element; the elastic layer and / or the load-bearing composite active layer and / or the upper and / or lower skins of the aircraft element are made curvilinear; the piezoelectric cells are round, hexagonal or rectangular and are mounted with a dense hexagonal or tetragonal packing, respectively; the load-bearing composite active layer is located between the upper and lower skins of the aircraft element near its hypothetical neutral layer and / or the torsion axis of the aircraft element;the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of both skins of the aircraft element is minimized relative to the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of the load-bearing composite active layer; the load-bearing composite active layer is combined with one of the skins of the aircraft element; includes two identical load-bearing composite active layers that are combined with both skins of the aircraft element.
[0017] These distinctive features, in combination with known ones, make it possible to increase the working range of controlled torsional-flexural deformations of an aircraft element and, as a consequence, to increase the range of control of the geometry of its aerodynamic surfaces.
[0018] An aircraft element, in particular in the form of a wing with controlled geometry of aerodynamic surfaces, is illustrated by the drawings presented in Figs. 1 - 5.
[0019] Fig. 1 shows an aircraft element in the form of a wing with a middle supporting composite active layer.
[0020] Fig. 2 shows an aircraft element in the form of a wing with two load-bearing composite active layers combined with the upper and lower skins.
[0021] Fig. 3 shows a supporting composite active layer in the form of an elastic layer with piezoelectric cells installed on both surfaces with specified orientations of the directions of the interdigital electrodes.
[0022] Fig. 4 shows an aircraft element in the form of a wing before and after a controlled change in shape.
[0023] Fig. 5 shows a rectangular piezoelectric cell.
[0024] Fig. 6 shows a hexagonal piezoelectric cell.
[0025] Fig. 7 shows a round piezoelectric cell.
[0026] An aviation element, in particular in the form of a wing with controlled geometry of aerodynamic surfaces (Fig. 1, 2) contains elastic lower and upper skins 1, 2, between which, near a hypothetical middle surface, a load-bearing composite active layer 3 (Fig. 1) is located, or two load-bearing composite active layers 3 (Fig. 2) combined with the lower and upper skins 1, 2 with a filler 4, in particular, in the form of a honeycomb filler.
[0027] The supporting composite active layer 3 (Fig. 3) is a thin elastic layer 5, on one or both surfaces of which piezoelectric cells 6 are installed with specified orientations of the directions of the interdigital electrodes to ensure controlled bending-torsional deformations of the supporting composite active layer 3 and, as a consequence, control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins 1,2 of the aircraft element (Fig. 4).
[0028] The deformed aviation element 5 in the form of a wing with modified geometry is shown by a dotted line in Fig. 4.
[0029] Piezoelectric cell 6 (Fig. 3) - film piezoelectric actuator (Figs. 5 - 7) [see Patent RU No. 2818079. Piezoelectric actuator / Pankov A.A., Published: 04 / 24 / 2024 Bull. No. 12] in the form of a thin homogeneous or composite piezoelectric layer 7, in particular, rectangular (Fig. 5), hexagonal (Fig. 6) or round (Fig. 7) in shape with “tree-shaped” interdigital surface electrodes 8, 9 located on the upper and / or lower surfaces with a variable value of the orientation angle α to the base of the cell (Fig. 5) or allowing rotation by the required angle α of the entire cell, in particular, rotation of a hexagonal cell by an angle α multiple of π / 3 (Fig. 6) or rotation of a round cell (Fig. 7) by any optimal angle α when installing cells with dense packing on the surface of the object of action.
[0030] Two linear base electrodes 10, 11 connect the ends of the corresponding interdigital electrodes 8, 9 to form a two-wire conductive line with outputs 12, 13 for connecting the control electrical voltage U упр .
[0031] The interdigitated electrodes 8, 9 interact with each other in pairs by means of an electric field through local sections of the piezoelectric layer 7 between them when connected to the outputs 12, 13 of the corresponding base electrodes 10, 11 of the control electric voltage U упр .
[0032] When the interdigital electrodes 8, 9 are arranged on both the upper and lower surfaces of the piezoelectric layer 7, the corresponding unipolar electrodes 8, 9 are arranged opposite to each other.
[0033] In general, the shape of the piezoelectric cell 6, its base and interdigital electrodes 8,9 are curvilinear with a given orientation of the interdigital electrodes 8,9 relative to the base electrodes 10, 11 and the boundaries of the piezoelectric cell 6.
[0034] The polarization of the piezoelectric layer 7 is carried out by applying a polarizing electric voltage U to the outputs 12, 13 пол .
[0035] The application of tape electrodes 8, 9, 10, 11 on the surfaces of the piezoelectric layer 7 is carried out as a result of etching or 3-D printing.
[0036] The piezoelectric layer 7 is made of a PVDF polymer film or a composite material, for example, reinforced with piezoelectric fibers or single crystals orthogonal to the direction of the interdigital electrodes 8, 9 to increase the flexibility and effective value of the working piezoelectric modulus of the piezoelectric layer 7 in the reinforcement direction.
[0037] The double-sided arrows in Fig. 3, Fig. 5 indicate the working directions of “extension-compression”, orthogonal to the interdigital electrodes 8, 9 of the piezoelectric cells 6.
[0038] Piezoelectric cells 6 are located on one or both surfaces of the elastic layer 5 (Fig. 3) in a given optimal manner, for example, with a dense tetragonal packing of cells 6 (Fig. 5) and given optimal values of the orientation angle α of the interdigital electrodes 8,9 inside the cells, taking into account their locations on the surface of the elastic layer 5 and the general purpose of the aviation element.
[0039] It is advisable to manufacture piezoelectric cells 6 in a round (Fig. 6) or hexagonal (Fig. 7) shape to achieve the required direction of the interdigital electrodes 8,9 by means of different rotation angles α of identical cells with a dense hexagonal packing of the cells.
[0040] Piezoelectric cells 6 are activated simultaneously or independently of each other when the same general value or individual values of control electric voltage U are connected to the outputs 12, 13 of their electrodes 8, 9 упр .
[0041] Piezoelectric drives in the form of piezoelectric cells 6 (Fig. 5 - 7) can be additionally placed on the upper and / or lower casings 1,2.
[0042] In Fig. 4, the dotted line shows the changed shape of the wing as a result of its bending-torsional deformations when connecting the control electrical voltage U упр to the outputs of the electrodes 12, 13 of the piezoelectric cells 6 of the supporting composite active layer 3 (Fig. 3).
[0043] The device operates as follows.
[0044] Piezoelectric cells 6 are installed on the surface of the elastic layer 5 of the supporting composite active layer 3 in the most dense manner with a minimum distance between the cells 6, for example, with a tetragonal arrangement (Fig. 3). The set of values of the orientation angle α of the cells is determined from the condition of optimally achieving the required target result - a change in the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins 1,2 of an aircraft element, in particular, in the form of a wing (Figs. 1 - 4).
[0045] When connecting to the outputs of electrodes 12, 13 of piezoelectric cells 6 of the control electric voltage U упрaxial “tension-compression” deformations of cells 6 are carried out in their working directions (see double arrows in Fig. 3, Fig. 5), which causes controlled bending-torsional deformations of the elastic layer 5 and, as a whole, the supporting composite active layer 3 and, as a consequence, the required change in the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins 1,2 of the aircraft element (Fig. 4).
[0046] It is advisable to minimize the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of both skins 1, 2 of the aircraft element (Fig. 1-2) (within the limits of physically and structurally permissible values) relative to the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of the supporting composite active layer 3 with piezoelectric cells 6.
[0047] The supporting composite active layer 3 can be combined with one of the skins 1,2 of the aircraft element (not shown in Fig. 1,2).
[0048] The aviation element may include two identical load-bearing composite active layers 3, which are combined with each of the two skins 1,2 of the aviation element, respectively (Fig. 2).
[0049] The achieved technical result is confirmed by numerical modeling of controlled deformation of the blade flap with a change in the aerodynamic profile based on the solution of electroelasticity problems in the thermal analogy approximation.
[0050] The advantage of the invention is that it significantly increases the operating range of controlled torsional-flexural deformations of an aircraft element and, as a consequence, increases the range of control of the geometry of its aerodynamic surfaces.
Claims
1. An aircraft element with controlled geometry of aerodynamic surfaces, comprising elastic upper and lower skins of the aircraft element, piezoelectric actuators in the form of piezoelectric cells with variable values of the orientation angle of interdigitated IDE electrodes with outputs for connecting a control electric voltage to the electrodes; the piezoelectric cells are installed in an optimal manner for the entire set of cells with optimal orientation angles of their interdigitated electrodes, taking into account the locations of the cells and the general purpose of the aircraft element;the control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins of an aircraft element is carried out as a result of its torsional-flexural deformations when connecting the same general value or individual values of the control electrical voltage to the outputs of the electrodes of piezoelectric cells, wherein the piezoelectric cells are put into action simultaneously or independently of each other, characterized in that it includes an elastic layer, on one or both surfaces of which piezoelectric cells with specified orientations of the directions of the interdigital electrodes are installed, with the formation of a supporting composite active layer with controlled torsional-flexural deformations, which cause deformation and, as a result, control of the geometry of the aerodynamic surfaces of the skins of an aircraft element.
2. An aviation element according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the elastic layer and / or the supporting composite active layer and / or the upper and / or lower skin of the aviation element are made curvilinear.
3. An aviation element according to claim 1, characterized in that the piezoelectric cells are round, hexagonal or rectangular in shape and are installed in a dense hexagonal or tetragonal arrangement, respectively.
4. An aircraft element according to claim 1, characterized in that the supporting composite active layer is located between the upper and lower skins of the aircraft element near its hypothetical neutral layer and / or the torsion axis of the aircraft element.
5. An aircraft element according to claim 1, characterized in that the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of both skins of the aircraft element is minimized relative to the bending and / or torsional rigidity of the cross-section of the load-bearing composite active layer.
6. An aviation element according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the supporting composite active layer is combined with one of the skins of the aviation element.
7. An aviation element according to paragraph 1, characterized in that it includes two identical load-bearing composite active layers that are combined with both skins of the aviation element.