Design and Validation of a Bio-Inspired Wing Capable of Large-Smooth-Accurate Trailing-Edge Morphing

Trailing-edge morphing wings can effectively change aerodynamic forces of aircraft and shorten its takeoff and landing distance. However, the design of a single-actuated wing with large and smooth morphing is challenging. Inspired by curved organisms, a novel morphing wing is proposed in this article. It can realize a large range of smooth and accurate morphing of the trailing-edge in a single actuation. Its dynamics considering the effect of flexible skins is established. The morphing control strategy based on the fuzzy PID is presented. Finally, a series of experiments is conducted to verify its morphing performance. The experimental results show that the trailing-edge morphing wing can realize upward-smooth morphing of 59.623° and downward-smooth morphing of 38.560°, respectively. Meanwhile, the wing has the ability of high-accuracy morphing. The maximum tracking error is 5.320% ± 0.207% in complex morphing modes. Finally, the aerodynamic performance of the morphing wing is verified by wind tunnel experiments.