Structural Design and Control of Morphing Wings Driven by an SMA Actuator

Morphing wings represent a promising area of development in aircraft, with efforts to develop efficient and cost-effective aeronautical structures increasingly focused on these morphing systems, particularly those utilizing smart materials. This study presents a novel variable span wing driven by shape memory alloy (SMA), which consists of SMA wires, a skin structure with topologically optimized cellular structures, a fastening device, and a positioning frame. In order to predict the structural response of the variable span wing driven by SMA, its thermomechanical behavior is proposed. The evaluation of the SMA-based mechanism’s driving performance is conducted through an open-loop test. The proportion–integration–differentiation (PID) control method is employed to precisely regulate the deformation of the morphing wing. The results show that, following the implementation of PID control, the maximum discrepancy between the actual displacement and the expected displacement is 6.75%, suggesting that the control method is effective. The study provides a practical application of SMA driving technology in morphing wings.