This paper outlines a new class of piezoelectric flight control actuators which are specifically intended for use in guided
hard-launched munitions from under 5.56mm to 40mm in caliber. In March of 2011, US Pat. 7,898,153 was issued,
describing this new class of actuators, how they are mounted, laminated, energized and used to control the flight of a
wide variety of munitions. This paper is the technical conference paper companion to the Patent. A Low Net Passive
Stiffness (LNPS) Post Buckled Precompressed (PBP) piezoelectric actuator element for a 0.40 caliber body, 0.50 caliber
round was built and tested. Aerodynamic modeling of the flight control actuator showed that canard deflections of just
±1° are more than sufficient to provide full flight control against 99% atmospherics to 2km of range while maintaining
just 10cm of dispersion with lethal energy pressure levels upon terminal contact. Supersonic wind tunnel testing was
conducted as well as a sweep of axial compression. The LNPS/PBP configuration exhibited an amplification factor of
3.8 while maintaining equivalent corner frequencies in excess of 100 Hz and deflection levels of ±1°. The paper
concludes with a fabrication and assembly cost analysis on a mass production scale.
This paper outlines the design, fabrication and testing of a new, high performance piezoelectrically driven aircraft flutter
test vane. This flutter test vane utilizes low-net passive stiffness (LNPS) actuator configurations to produce deflection
amplification ratios on the order of 5:1 while maintaining full blocked moment generation capability. With an order of
magnitude lower weight than conventional vanes, the LNPS flight flutter test vane is capable of producing larger
amplitude structural deflections with smaller force levels because vane forcing waveforms, frequencies and phasing can
be very exactingly controlled with respect to each other. The paper covers the fundamental driving theories behind the
device, actuator geometry, test article layout, fabrication and testing. This device was wind tunnel tested at airspeeds up
to 110 ft/s with excellent correlation between theory and experiment. Experimental tests show an improvement in
angular deflection and delta lift forces from approximately ±1.8 deg. and 0.45 lbf to ±8.5 deg. and 1.45 lbf, respectively.
The flutter test vane consumes only 1W of peak power at max. actuation frequency, drastically reducing the impact of
electrical power supply lines on the modal mass of the wing. This paper describes the modeling, testing and evaluation
of the adaptive flutter test vane and quantifies the implications on the current state of flight flutter testing.
This paper is centered on a new actuation philosophy executed on an old rotor design. An adaptive rotor employing
twist-active piezoelectric root actuators was used as a testbed to investigate the new branch of structural mechanics
devoted to low- and zero-net passive stiffness (ZNPS) structures. One of the more common methods to achieve zero net
passive stiffnesses in structures is to employ "negative" springs: that is, mechanisms which when combined with the
baseline structure null the passive stiffness of the total structural element. This paper outlines the application of such a
system via a Post-Buckled Precompression (PBP) technique at the end of a twist-active piezoelectric rotor blade
actuator. The basic performance of the system is handily modeled by using laminated plate theory techniques. A dual
cantilevered spring system was used to increasingly null the passive stiffness of the root actuator along the feathering
axis of the rotor blade. As the precompression levels were increased, it was shown that corresponding blade pitch levels
also increased. The PBP cantilever spring system was designed so as to provide a high level of stabilizing pitch-flap
coupling and inherent resistance to rotor propeller moments. Experimental testing showed pitch deflections increasing
from just 8° peak-to-peak deflections at 650 V/mm field strength to more than 26° at the same field strength with design
precompression levels. Dynamic testing showed the corner frequency of the linear system coming down from 63 Hz (3.8/rev) to 53Hz (3.2/rev). Thrust coefficients manipulation levels were shown to increase from 0.01 to 0.028 with increasing precompression levels. The paper concludes with an overall assessment of the actuator design and conclusions on overall feasibility.
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