Study of various trends for morphing wing technology

Abstract

Term ‘Morphing’ is generally used where the body structurally adapts to make itself best suited for its situation and become more efficient for the same. This phenomenon is seen in nature where species change their body configuration to handle the situation in the best way possible. The same concept is applied on aircraft to make them versatile for various situations, like changing from a long endurance mission to a high speed combat mission. As of now conventional aircraft are best suited for a few mission types, morphing technology seeks to change that. In the current situation morphing is mostly being done on wings and can be categorized in two broad methods. This review discusses and analyzes those methods. Also a comparison is done among them on the basis of structural stability, ease of manufacturing, actuation efficiency and reliability. Finally a summary is given for the current situation of the morphing wing technology and various future scopes for the same.