Cuboctahedral Lattice Aerostructures for Shape Morphing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current adaptive aerostructures face challenges in being lightweight and compliant while maintaining operational loads, with existing materials having high mass density and limited scalability for mass production and integration with traditional flight systems, which affects fuel efficiency and performance across varying flight conditions.
Innovation Solution
A programmable material system using 3D octahedral unit cells and interface parts assembled into a cuboctahedral lattice structure, combined with an outer skin, to create a high-performance, conformable aeroelastic system that can be mass-produced and adapted for different designs and applications, incorporating an actuation system for active roll control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If elastomeric materials with high strain and controllable compliance are used to achieve generalized shape morphing, then adaptability and compliance are improved, but mass density increases and specific modulus decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials combining aluminum or CFRP struts with elastomeric joints to achieve both low density and high compliance. The struts provide structural stiffness while the elastomeric joints provide controllable compliance, creating a composite system that outperforms pure elastomeric materials in specific modulus while maintaining shape morphing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making different parts of the structure have different material properties - rigid struts in compression/tension zones and compliant elastomeric joints in rotation zones. This allows the structure to be stiff where needed for load bearing while remaining compliant where needed for shape morphing, resolving the weight-adaptability contradiction
2Strength
If planar configurations with higher stiffness are used to maintain operational loads, then strength is improved, but adaptability for multi-dimensional shape morphing is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from planar 2D configurations to 3D tetrahedral and octahedral cell structures. This dimensional change allows the structure to bear loads in multiple directions simultaneously while maintaining compliance for shape morphing in all three spatial dimensions, resolving the contradiction between strength and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines rigid struts for load bearing with compliant elastomeric joints for shape morphing. The rigid struts form the tetrahedral/octahedral framework that provides structural strength, while the elastomeric joints at the nodes enable controlled deformation and shape change, allowing the structure to maintain strength while gaining adaptability
3Manufacturing precision
If customized building blocks specific to single aircraft design are used, then manufacturing precision for that design is improved, but scalability and extensibility to different designs are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent develops universal building blocks with standardized interfaces that can be used across multiple aircraft designs. The tetrahedral and octahedral cells with standardized connection nodes can be assembled in different configurations to create wings of various sizes and geometries, maintaining manufacturing precision while enabling scalability and extensibility to different aircraft platforms
4Productivity
If discrete assembly of building block units is used to create high-performance cellular material, then manufacturing scalability is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wing structure into discrete tetrahedral and octahedral building blocks with standardized interfaces. This segmentation enables modular assembly that can be scaled to different production volumes and allows parallel manufacturing of individual cells, improving productivity while the standardized interfaces actually reduce assembly complexity compared to monolithic structures
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves significant aerodynamic efficiency gains, reduced weight, and enhanced control authority through programmable deformation and stiffness tuning, demonstrating improved lift-to-drag ratios and roll control, while maintaining structural integrity and scalability.
Implementation Method 1
elastomeric joints with high strain, energy absorption, and controllable compliance capabilities
Data Source
AI summary
A shape-morphing ultralight structure using materials that dramatically increase the efficiency of load-bearing aerostructures that includes a programmable material system applied as a large-scale, ultralight, and conformable (shape-morphing) aeroelastic structure. The use of a modular, lattice-based, ultralight material results in stiffness and density typical of an elastomer. This, combined with a building block-based manufacturing and configuration strategy, enables the rapid realization of new adaptive structures and mechanisms. The heterogeneous design with programmable anisotropy allows for enhanced elastic and global shape deformation in response to external loading, making it useful for tuned fluid-structure interaction. The present invention demonstrates an example application experiment using two building block types for the primary structure of a 4.27 m wingspan aircraft with spatially programed elastic shape morphing to increase aerodynamic efficiency.