Friday, May 4, 2012
3:00 pm
101 Guggenheim Lab, Lees-Kubota Lecture Hall
GALCIT Colloquium
Series:GALCIT Colloquium
Adaptive Aeroelastic Tailoring using Variable Stiffness Approaches
Paolo Ermanni, Professor, ETH Zurich
Bending-twist coupling is one of the most decisive properties affecting the aeroelastic
behaviour of aerostructures as wings or rotor blades. In this context, semi-active structural
elements based on variable stiffness represent a promising approach to the solution of the
conflict of requirements between load-carrying capability and shape adaptivity in morphing
structures. In this talk, a structural concept with adaptive bending-twist coupling aiming at a
broad adjustment range of coupling stiffness while maintaining high flexural rigidity is
investigated. The basic concept is relying on layers with variable shear stress transfer,
controlled by temperature or electric fields. In particular, we are investigating novel forms of
direct electrostatic coupling. The concept of Electro Bonded Laminates (EBL) relies on the
combination of electrostatic normal forces and friction between laminate layers in order to
actively control the bending-twist coupling of the system. The mechanical response is
strongly dependent on the electrical properties of its polymer constitutive films in terms of
dielectric and the insulating properties. Multilayer polymer configuration is considered as a
possible answer to this need and it is put forward together with the electric model and the
relatively high frequency experimental evidence of the proposed solution.
Contact Xin Ning xning@caltech.edu at 626-395-3073
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