Document Type
Article
Author ORCID Identifier
Douglas F. Hunsaker https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8106-7466
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Applied Sciences
Volume
15
Issue
6
Publisher
MDPI AG
Publication Date
3-19-2025
Journal Article Version
Version of Record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
1
Last Page
14
Abstract
Modern materials and manufacturing technologies have allowed the construction of morphing wings that are able to continuously vary certain airfoil parameters such as twist, camber, or control surface deflection as a function of span. This work presents a twist effectiveness parameter as a means of comparing the ideal aerodynamic efficiency of spanwise continuous control surfaces (morphing wings) and spanwise discrete control surfaces (standard wings). A numerical algorithm is used to compute the twist effectiveness of both continuous and discrete control-surface designs over a wide range of planform shapes with evenly spaced actuation for inviscid, incompressible flow. Results included here show that using continuous control surfaces instead of discrete control surfaces reduces induced drag by less than 5% for most applications.
Recommended Citation
Montgomery, Z.S.; Hunsaker, D.F.; Joo, J.J. Lifting-Line Predictions for the Ideal Twist Effectiveness of Spanwise Continuous and Discrete Control Surfaces. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 3383. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15063383