Passive Roll Compensation on Micro Air Vehicles with Perimeter Reinforced Membrane Wings

Abstract

Micro air vehicles with thin membrane wings have the ability to passively adapt to flight conditions improving aircraft stability. This work is concerned with the prop-wash induced asymmetrical loading of a perimeter reinforced wing. A perimeter reinforced membrane wing is evaluated versus a relatively rigid graphite/epoxy wing to determine if this variation improves lateral-directional flight characteristics, mainly adverse roll due to propeller torque. Digital image correlation, in conjunction with loads measurements in a wind tunnel investigation, are implemented to quantify the wing deflections and stability coefficients. Results indicate that the perimeter reinforced wing does display potential benefits for low speed and high angle of attack flight that could be further tailored to enhance roll compensation for future micro air vehicles.