Paper Title
In-Flight Camber Transformation Of Aircraft Wing Based On Variation In Thickness-To-Chord Ratio
Abstract
In general, there is wide gap between subsonic flight and supersonic flight, mainly due to aerodynamic
limitations. This paper presents a method for development of next generation aircraft wings whose camber can be
transformed in-flight for enabling it to fly efficiently in different regimes of Mach number; say, Subsonic to supersonic and
vice-versa. To demonstrate the aerodynamic performance of the subsonic airfoil (C141A) and a supersonic airfoil (NACA
65206), the flow is simulated by using the commercial program GAMBIT and FLUENT. An important aspect is the
mechanical and hydraulic transformation mechanism working inside the wing which helps it to change the camber according
to the requirement. For this mechanism, a Hydraulic expansion-contraction system is used which works on the principle of
Master and Slave Piston-cylinder arrangement. This concept can be practically very important to increase aerodynamic
efficiency of the aircraft in different regions of subsonic, transonic and supersonic flights. Moreover, this idea of real-time
camber transformation can make an aircraft multipurpose in accordance to Mach regime of flight.