KinetiX Mechanical Metamaterials Based Integrated Design of Deformation and Load-Bearing for Folding Wings

Folding-wing aircraft can modify their aerodynamic configurations during various flight phases, enabling adaptation to diverse atmospheric conditions, making them a crucial area in aerospace engineering advancements. The coordinated deformation of lightweight structures is a key technology for realizing folding wings. Mechanical metamaterials, with their lightweight and customizable deformation properties, are promising for use in folded wing structures. The KinetiX-based 3D-deformed metamaterial, with inclined ledges and flexible hinges, can produce out-of-plane bending deformation under in-plane loading. This study establishes a mechanical model of the KinetiX 3D-deformed metamaterial unit-cell structure, evaluates its deformation through simulations and experiments, and analyzes its bending behavior in combined configurations. The metamaterial is applied to wing and airfoil designs, with finite-element analysis and experimental tests validating its bending performance, demonstrating its potential for folded aerodynamic structures.