DESIGN, ANALYSIS AND 3D PRINTING OF A MORPHING WING PROTOTYPE

In this study, two different wing morphing models were chosen for design and testing. The selected models allow for significant considerations due to their airfoil geometry variation and wingspan variation. The purpose of choosing these prototypes was to highlight the benefits of the morphing wing concept as applied to aircraft, and further applied to UAVs, as well as to light and ultra-light aircraft. In order to confirm these advantages that support the reasons for applying the concept, both structural and aerodynamic analyses were carried out. Finally, the morphing wing model with chord extension was physically manufactured by means of a 3D printing process and tested to validate the proposed concept.