{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/19190"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/19190","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Evaluating the Aerodynamic Performance of MFC-Actuated Morphing Wings to Control a Small UAV","abstract":"The purpose of this research is to evaluate certain performance characteristics of a morphing<br />wing system that uses Macro Fiber Composites (MFC) to create camber change. This<br />thesis can be broken into two major sections. The first half compares a few current MFC<br />airfoil designs to each other and to a conventional servomechanism (servo) airfoil. Their<br />performance was measured in terms of lift and drag in a 2-D wind tunnel. The results<br />showed MFC airfoils were effective but limited by aeroelasticity compared to the servo. In<br />addition, a morphed airfoil and a flapped airfoil were rapid prototyped and tested to isolate<br />the effects of discontinuity. The continuous morphed airfoil produced more lift with less<br />drag.<br />The second half of this thesis work focused on determining the ideal MFC configurations for<br />a thin wing application. Simulations were run on a thin wing with embedded MFCs such<br />that the whole wing morphed. Finite element and vortex lattice models were used to predict<br />deflections and rolling moment coefficients. Different configuration parameters were then<br />varied to quantify their effect. The comparisons included MFC location, number of MFCs,<br />material substrate, and wing thickness. A prototype wing was then built and flight tested.<br />While the simulations overestimated the wing deflection, the flight results illustrated the<br />complexity and variability associated with the MFC morphing system. The rolling moment<br />coefficients from flight were consistent with the simulation given the differences in deflection.","abstract_html":"The purpose of this research is to evaluate certain performance characteristics of a morphing&lt;br /&gt;wing system that uses Macro Fiber Composites (MFC) to create camber change. This&lt;br /&gt;thesis can be broken into two major sections. The first half compares a few current MFC&lt;br /&gt;airfoil designs to each other and to a conventional servomechanism (servo) airfoil. Their&lt;br /&gt;performance was measured in terms of lift and drag in a 2-D wind tunnel. The results&lt;br /&gt;showed MFC airfoils were effective but limited by aeroelasticity compared to the servo. In&lt;br /&gt;addition, a morphed airfoil and a flapped airfoil were rapid prototyped and tested to isolate&lt;br /&gt;the effects of discontinuity. The continuous morphed airfoil produced more lift with less&lt;br /&gt;drag.&lt;br /&gt;The second half of this thesis work focused on determining the ideal MFC configurations for&lt;br /&gt;a thin wing application. Simulations were run on a thin wing with embedded MFCs such&lt;br /&gt;that the whole wing morphed. Finite element and vortex lattice models were used to predict&lt;br /&gt;deflections and rolling moment coefficients. Different configuration parameters were then&lt;br /&gt;varied to quantify their effect. The comparisons included MFC location, number of MFCs,&lt;br /&gt;material substrate, and wing thickness. A prototype wing was then built and flight tested.&lt;br /&gt;While the simulations overestimated the wing deflection, the flight results illustrated the&lt;br /&gt;complexity and variability associated with the MFC morphing system. The rolling moment&lt;br /&gt;coefficients from flight were consistent with the simulation given the differences in deflection.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Probst, Troy Anthony"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Kochersberger, Kevin B."],"committee_members":["Case, Scott W.","Tarazaga, Pablo Alberto"],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-11-06","date_published":"2012-11-06","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:26Z","subjects":["Morphing airfoil","Full wing morphing","Piezoelectrics"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:34"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:34","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/19190","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Kochersberger, Kevin B."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Case, Scott W.","Tarazaga, Pablo Alberto"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Probst, Troy Anthony"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2013-02-19T22:19:42Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-02-19T22:19:42Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012-11-06"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Morphing airfoil","Full wing morphing","Piezoelectrics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:34"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/19190"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this research is to evaluate certain performance characteristics of a morphing<br />wing system that uses Macro Fiber Composites (MFC) to create camber change. This<br />thesis can be broken into two major sections. The first half compares a few current MFC<br />airfoil designs to each other and to a conventional servomechanism (servo) airfoil. Their<br />performance was measured in terms of lift and drag in a 2-D wind tunnel. The results<br />showed MFC airfoils were effective but limited by aeroelasticity compared to the servo. In<br />addition, a morphed airfoil and a flapped airfoil were rapid prototyped and tested to isolate<br />the effects of discontinuity. The continuous morphed airfoil produced more lift with less<br />drag.<br />The second half of this thesis work focused on determining the ideal MFC configurations for<br />a thin wing application. Simulations were run on a thin wing with embedded MFCs such<br />that the whole wing morphed. Finite element and vortex lattice models were used to predict<br />deflections and rolling moment coefficients. Different configuration parameters were then<br />varied to quantify their effect. The comparisons included MFC location, number of MFCs,<br />material substrate, and wing thickness. A prototype wing was then built and flight tested.<br />While the simulations overestimated the wing deflection, the flight results illustrated the<br />complexity and variability associated with the MFC morphing system. The rolling moment<br />coefficients from flight were consistent with the simulation given the differences in deflection."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluating the Aerodynamic Performance of MFC-Actuated Morphing Wings to Control a Small UAV"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Kochersberger, Kevin B."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Case, Scott W.","Tarazaga, Pablo Alberto"],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Probst, Troy Anthony"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2013-02-19T22:19:42Z"],"dc:date.available":["2013-02-19T22:19:42Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2012-11-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this research is to evaluate certain performance characteristics of a morphing<br />wing system that uses Macro Fiber Composites (MFC) to create camber change. This<br />thesis can be broken into two major sections. The first half compares a few current MFC<br />airfoil designs to each other and to a conventional servomechanism (servo) airfoil. Their<br />performance was measured in terms of lift and drag in a 2-D wind tunnel. The results<br />showed MFC airfoils were effective but limited by aeroelasticity compared to the servo. In<br />addition, a morphed airfoil and a flapped airfoil were rapid prototyped and tested to isolate<br />the effects of discontinuity. The continuous morphed airfoil produced more lift with less<br />drag.<br />The second half of this thesis work focused on determining the ideal MFC configurations for<br />a thin wing application. Simulations were run on a thin wing with embedded MFCs such<br />that the whole wing morphed. Finite element and vortex lattice models were used to predict<br />deflections and rolling moment coefficients. Different configuration parameters were then<br />varied to quantify their effect. The comparisons included MFC location, number of MFCs,<br />material substrate, and wing thickness. A prototype wing was then built and flight tested.<br />While the simulations overestimated the wing deflection, the flight results illustrated the<br />complexity and variability associated with the MFC morphing system. The rolling moment<br />coefficients from flight were consistent with the simulation given the differences in deflection."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:34"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/19190"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Morphing airfoil","Full wing morphing","Piezoelectrics"],"dc:title":["Evaluating the Aerodynamic Performance of MFC-Actuated Morphing Wings to Control a Small UAV"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:26Z"}