Structure-Actuator Integrated Design of Piezo-Actuated Composite Plate Wing for Active Shape Control

Abstract

The aerodynamic performance of aircraft can be improved via shape morphing of wings actuated by piezoelectric material. An integrated design approach of piezo-actuated wings was developed while simultaneously considering aeroelastic tailoring of the base wing and actuator optimization. The main purpose was to investigate how the anisotropic composite substrate and the anisotropic piezocomposite actuators affect each other in both passive and active aspects. To this end, an aeroelastic model was established using the finite element method combined with unsteady aerodynamic loads. A structural/actuator integrated design scheme was developed by taking the incremental lift change and the wing thickness as objective functions. The general genetic algorithm (GA) and improved nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) were used to solve the single-objective and multiobjective problems, respectively. The results indicate that, with a fixed thickness, control ability on lift change can be improved with lower flutter speed constraint, increased number of layers, smaller incremental angle, and increased number of actuators. The Pareto frontier for the multiobjective case, presenting better control ability, will be available with relatively larger wing thickness. The distribution of the ±45° layers plays a key role in balancing the tradeoff between shape control ability and flutter stability. The designs of the substrate and actuators interact in both passive (mass and stiffness properties) and active (shape morphing and lift enhancement) aspects. The best solution must be obtained by considering the aeroelastic tailoring and actuator optimization in an integrated way.