Aerodynamic Flow Control through Adapted Leading Edge Enabled by Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Actuators

This thesis investigates a novel method for aerodynamic flow control at the wing–body junction through the use of a morphing leading-edge fairing actuated by pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). The compliant fairing, cast from Ecoflex® 00–31 silicone and embedded with a McKibben-type PAM actuator, was designed to dynamically reshape the junction surface and influence local flow behavior. Experiments were conducted in a low-speed opencircuit wind tunnel with a NACA 0015 airfoil model, and flow visualization was performed using smoke to qualitatively assess the impact of surface morphing. The actuator produced localized deformation up to 0.3c chordwise and operated reliably up to 10Hz at 60psi. Smoke visualization revealed that actuation at intermediate frequencies (3–5Hz) was most effective at modifying the near-wake flow, especially at moderate to high angles of attack (α = 10◦ and 15◦). At these conditions, the flow exhibited signs of improved attachment, including wake narrowing, redirection of streaklines, and localized suppression of separation. At lower angles of attack (α = 0◦ and 5◦), and especially at lower freestream velocities (5–10m/s), actuation effects were limited and sometimes masked by unsteady smoke behavior. Nevertheless, at α = 15◦ and 10 m/s, the clearest evidence of flow reattachment was observed. This work constitutes the first known experimental demonstration of PAM-actuated shape morphing applied to wing–body junctions for aerodynamic control. The findings highlight the potential of soft robotic actuators for real-time surface adaptation in aerodynamic environments and lay the foundation for future development of active morphing systems for unsteady and separated flow control.