Design and analysis of a morphing drag rudder on the aerodynamics, structural deformation, and the required actuating moment

Abstract

The split drag rudder is an important yawing control device for the tailless flying-wing aircraft. In this article, a new morphing drag rudder is proposed based on the chordwise continuous variable camber technology. The designs of the structure and actuation system are first presented. A comparative study on the aerodynamics of the morphing and traditional drag rudders is performed numerically. The results show that the morphing drag rudder experiences a larger aerodynamic drag than the traditional one at small angles of attack. The analysis on the structural deformation and the required actuating moment at zero angle of attack are performed. The results show that the deformation due to the aerodynamic load increases more and more slowly with the angle of deflection. Besides, the relationship between the required actuating moment and the trailing edge deformation is linear, which indicates the applicability of using morphing drag rudder for yawing control.