Deployable Lifting Surface for Compact Air Vehicle Launch
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Solution Overview
Problem
Air vehicles launched from tubes or stored in compact form are limited by the size and configuration of their deployable lifting surfaces, which restricts their performance due to the need for wings to fit within a launcher or container envelope.
Innovation Solution
The design features a lifting surface composed of an upper and lower member that deploys from a stowed condition wrapped around the fuselage, with increased physical separation between the members in the deployed state, secured by a combustible restraint that releases to expand and provide lift, utilizing flexible materials and internal stiffeners for structural support and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the lifting surface is made large to improve aerodynamic performance, then lift capability is improved, but the lifting surface cannot be stowed within the launcher or container envelope
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting surface is divided into multiple segments or panels that can be folded or telescoped relative to each other. This segmentation allows the large lifting surface to be broken down into smaller sections that can be stowed within the launcher envelope while maintaining the full surface area when deployed for aerodynamic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting surface employs a nested configuration where smaller lifting surface sections are positioned within or alongside larger sections in the stowed state. This nesting arrangement minimizes the overall volume required for stowage while preserving the complete lifting surface area when the sections are extended or deployed for flight operations.
2Volume of moving object
If the lifting surface is made deployable to fit in compact form, then stowage volume is reduced, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting surface employs dynamic structures such as telescoping spars, folding ribs, or movable control surfaces that can transition between stowed and deployed configurations. These dynamic elements allow the lifting surface to adapt its shape and size as needed, reducing stowage volume while maintaining relatively simple structural components that can be actuated during flight.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting surface utilizes materials or structures whose physical parameters (such as stiffness, flexibility, or shape) can change during deployment. For example, using flexible membranes or smart materials that can transition from a compact folded state to a rigid deployed state, thereby reducing structural complexity while achieving the required stowage and performance characteristics.
3Speed
If the lifting surface is made lightweight for easy deployment, then deployment speed is improved, but the structural strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting surface employs composite materials that combine lightweight components with high strength-to-weight ratios. These composites enable the lifting surface to be sufficiently lightweight for rapid deployment while maintaining the structural strength required to withstand aerodynamic loads during flight. The composite construction allows for optimized material distribution to balance weight and strength requirements.
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
This configuration allows for a compact stowed form and an expanded deployed state with improved aerodynamic properties, enhancing the lift and control capabilities of air vehicles while maintaining a lightweight and compact storage format.
Implementation Method 1
The one or more surfaces are secured by a combustible restraint in the stowed configuration, and burning of the combustible restraint releases the one or more surfaces to the deployed condition.
Data Source
AI summary
An air vehicle includes a fuselage, and one or more lifting surfaces attached to the fuselage. The lifting surfaces deploy form a stowed, compact condition, to a deployed condition in which the lifting surfaces are deployed to provide lift to the air vehicle. The lifting surfaces each include a top member and a bottom member, which are joined at leading and trailing edges, such as by welds along the seams, or by flexible material placed along the seams. In deploying the thickness of the lifting surfaces increase, with middle portions of the members (portions of the members between the leading and trailing edges) moving away from one another. This may be accompanied by a lessening of the chord of the lifting surface, with the leading edge and the trailing edge moving closer together as the lifting surface deploys.