Dynamic stability and response of morphing wing structure with time-varying stiffness

Abstract Morphing, adaptable or smart structures are being used in mechanical and aerospace applications in recent years. These structures often have the property of time-varying stiffness or inertial properties, which can cause parametric instability issues that are not well understood. This paper examines the dynamic stability and response of a morphing aircraft wing with periodically time-varying structural stiffness. The wing is modeled as a beam with coupled bending-torsion motion, and parametrically excited stiffness. Aerodynamic loads introduce aerodynamic damping and aerodynamic stiffness to the wing structure. The dynamic and aeroelastic equation of motion resembles a coupled, damped Mathieu-type equation but differs with asymmetric damping and stiffness matrices, and symmetric inertial matrix. Further, these equations are functions of airspeed, magnitude and frequency of parametric excitation. Initially, dynamic stability of the wing is analyzed using Floquet theory, and the instability regions are numerically quantified by stability charts. Subsequently, dynamic responses in the stable and unstable regions are investigated with a Floquet-based Harmonic balance method. The findings reveal that, at zero airspeed, the combination instabilities are eliminated by varying the bending and torsional stiffness with equal magnitudes and frequency. However, as airspeed increases, instability regions shift unevenly, leading to the emergence of new instabilities. Furthermore, the response analysis within stable regions uncovers several unfavorable zones for operating the variable stiffness, where response decay is slower. The results clearly show that parametric excitation can cause unusual phenomena that significantly impact the operation of morphing wings with variable stiffness, which needs to be thoroughly investigated for successful implementation.