Carbon Fiber Reinforced Elastic Skin Maintains Rigidity in Lab Flight Tests听听
Researchers from Khalifa University have engineered a novel carbon fiber-reinforced elastomeric material for airplane wings, advancing morphing wing technologies in the aerospace industry. By combining carbon fiber with a specially designed elastic material, the team created a skin that can stretch up to 200% without getting thinner, offering potential improvements in efficiency, maneuverability, and overall aircraft performance.听
The study was published in a paper titled 鈥業nnovative Skin Structures: Synthesis, Void Analysis, and Hysteresis Modeling of Zero Poisson鈥檚 Ratio Skin for Span Morphing Wing鈥� in the International Journal of Applied Mechanics (IJAM). The co-authors include Dr. Dilshad Ahmad, Postdoctoral Fellow, Advanced Research and Innovation Center (ARIC), Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University, Sankalp Gour and Deepak Kumar from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, India, as well as Dr. Rafic M. Ajaj, Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University, and Dr. Yahya Zweiri, Director, ARIC.听
The study focuses on the development of advanced elastomer-based viscoelastic skin structures with a zero Poisson’s ratio, aiming to enhance efficiency and adaptability in aerospace engineering. The primary advantage of a zero Poisson’s ratio skin is its ability to allow significant longitudinal stretching (up to 200%) without getting thinner, unlike most materials that shrink when stretched. By reducing the Poisson’s ratio, the new material can be used for airplane wings that need to change shape during flight, as well as for soft robotics and other high-tech applications.听
The research involved advanced imaging techniques such as the Micro-CT tomography and X-ray tomography to confirm that the material combined with carbon fiber has the ability to stretch in one direction without changing its shape. Double degassing process, both before and after the insertion of the carbon fiber, in removing any trapped air bubbles ensured the creation of the high-quality elastomeric morphing skin.
The study also created an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) wing that can double its wingspan with wind tunnel tests at various speeds and angles showing the skin bent less than 0.5 mm. Another part of the study found that using a special lightweight material could boost the wing’s lift by up to 21%.
Alisha Roy
Science Writer
12 July 2024
