Slat-Inspired Reversible Wing for Stopped-Rotor Vehicles

Reversible morphing wings, which can exchange the leading and trailing edges, expand architectural possibilities for aerial robotics (e.g., stopped-rotor configurations). However, few designs are scaled for uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) applications or effectively address the coupled aerodynamic and structural challenges of morphing. As such, we present a novel reversible wing design that uses rigid parallelogram slats mounted on a flexible substrate, creating a compliant yet aerodynamically robust structure. One-way fluid-structure interaction simulations validate the wing's structural performance under airflow. Compared to other reversed-flow wings, the proposed configuration doubles reverse-flow performance relative to a Clark-Y wing and improves upon the 0° angle of attack performance compared to other reversible morphing wings.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-05-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1109/icuas65942.2025.11007875
Primary Topic
Fluid dynamics and aerodynamics studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Slat-Inspired Reversible Wing for Stopped-Rotor Vehicles

Max Hughes, Kristan Hilby, Ian W. Hunter
Fluid dynamics and aerodynamics studies
article

Slat-Inspired Reversible Wing for Stopped-Rotor Vehicles

Max Hughes, Kristan Hilby, Ian W. Hunter
article en

Abstract

Reversible morphing wings, which can exchange the leading and trailing edges, expand architectural possibilities for aerial robotics (e.g., stopped-rotor configurations). However, few designs are scaled for uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) applications or effectively address the coupled aerodynamic and structural challenges of morphing. As such, we present a novel reversible wing design that uses rigid parallelogram slats mounted on a flexible substrate, creating a compliant yet aerodynamically robust structure. One-way fluid-structure interaction simulations validate the wing's structural performance under airflow. Compared to other reversed-flow wings, the proposed configuration doubles reverse-flow performance relative to a Clark-Y wing and improves upon the 0° angle of attack performance compared to other reversible morphing wings.

Northwestern University (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Office of Graduate Education, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 88%
Fluid dynamics and aerodynamics studies
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