Active Wing Shaping Control for Morphing Aircraft

The objective of this proposal is the design, development and testing of certifiable control laws for active wing shaping of the VCCTEF (Variable Camber Continuous Trailing Edge Flap) aircraft. This aircraft has been conceptualized by NASA and is a high priority for the NASA ARMD Fixed Wing Project. Design of control laws for this aircraft is still very much an open topic since the use of active wing shaping control, in addition to traditional flight path control, is required in order to achieve the enhanced performance (in terms of higher lift-to-drag ratio) that the VCCTEF is capable of generating. The wing shaping control increases the complexity of the flight control laws as it must make use of active sensing and feedback of wing shape to continuously modulate the camber across multiple sections of the wings so as to ensure that the local angle of attack distribution over the wing is optimal for every flight condition. The research tasks outlined in this proposal are: (1) Development of certifiable adaptive decentralized control laws for active wing shaping, (2) Optimal number and placement of sensors on the wing to measure the wing shape, (3) Distributed sensing system for real-time wing shape monitoring and feedback of the wing shape to the control laws, and (4) Development of a testbed morphing UAV for testing the wing shaping control laws in the wind tunnel and in flight. Morphing and the use of low-weight elastic aircraft is an enabling technology that has the potential to lead to reduced aircraft drag and thus significant reduction in aircraft fuel consumption. This has a direct societal benefit since it leads to potentially cheaper and more affordable air transportation, and has a positive impact on the environment. In addition to this, the broader impacts of the proposed research include: (1) Making the general aviation community aware of the performance benefits of morphing aircraft, (2) Disseminating NASA morphing aircraft research into the general aviation community, (3) Giving the KS and MO aviation industry a global leading role in using morphing control technology on civil aviation aircraft, and (4) Contributing to the development of a technologically advanced workforce by educating KS and MO students in advanced nonlinear robust flight control systems and morphing aircraft.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.