Integrated design of topology and material for composite morphing trailing edge based compliant mechanism

The morphing trailing edge based compliant mechanism is a developing technology which can increase lift-drag ratio for variable flight modes by bending down the trailing edge. Composite material design is integrated into topology optimization for the morphing trailing edge based compliant mechanism in the paper. A two-step optimization strategy is established to solve the integrated design problem. Initially, lamination parameters are introduced and viewed as a bridge between structure stiffness and fiber angles for composite material. Design variables include the lamination parameters and element density. The least-squares between actual and desired displacements at output points along trailing edge is adopted to evaluate the deformed capability of the trailing edge. An integrated optimization model for the composite morphing trailing edge is established with the volume constraints. The optimal topologic shape and lamination parameters are initially obtained. Subsequently, a least-squares optimization between fiber angles and the optimal lamination parameters is implemented to obtain optimal fiber angles. Finally, morphing capability of composites trailing edge based compliant mechanism is investigated by simulation and experiments. The results indicate the composites trailing edge based compliant mechanism can approximately bend down 8 degrees and satisfies the design requirement. (c) 2020 Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

The paper discusses the optimization design of compliant mechanisms based on morphing trailing edges, integrating composite material design and utilizing a two-step optimization strategy to achieve deformation capabilities. By introducing lamination parameters and evaluating actual vs desired displacements, an integrated optimization model for composite morphing trailing edges is established, showing approximately 8 degrees of bending and meeting design requirements.