Adaptive Structures

NextGen Aeronautics is a leader in the development of adaptive structures for the aerospace industry. Combining advanced materials and actuator technologies with the latest structural design and analysis methods, we have designed, fabricated, and tested several concepts that demonstrate the effectiveness of employing reconfigurable structures to improve and extend the mission capabilities of a variety of flight vehicles.

“Morphing” aircraft are one result of the adaptive structures research at NextGen. By employing an adaptive structure, the wing of an aircraft can me configured to optimize performance over a broad range of operating conditions and flight regimes. The morphing ability of such structures yields benefits far beyond those afforded by more traditional approaches, such as variable sweep wings, by allowing two or more degrees of freedom to be controlled simultaneously, resulting in independent control of a number of wing geometric parameters such as aspect ratio, chord length, and planform area.

Morphing capability has been successfully demonstrated in both wind-tunnel and flight tests. Several concepts, employing a variety of morphing mechanisms, are in development and will be flight tested. Plans to develop a full-scale aircraft utilizing a proven morphing concept are under way. Building on previous success with adaptive aircraft structures, research at NextGen is focused on developing technologies that will enable aircraft mission performance far exceeding that which is available on today’s most advanced vehicles.

Smart Materials & Adaptive Structures

–  Flight Assessment and Testing of CHAP actuators –  Piezo-Hydraulic Actuation System Technologies –  NASTIC –  Micro-Hydraulic Pump for Supercavitating Vehicle Control –  High Lift/Drag Active Wing (HiLDA) Technologies –  Next Generation of Agile Self-Healing Strategically     Tuned Resilient Composites