Shape Control of Smart Structures using Fluidic Actuators
Samin Akbari
Shape control means control of position or alignment of a certain number of points of the structure so as to track a desired value, which is an important task of smart structures. Shape control is mostly extended by smart materials such as piezoelectric actuators or shape memory alloys. In this paper a new approach for static shape control of beams without the draw back of the smart materials-based scheme is developed. A system of eccentric reversing channels embedded into structures is then developed utilizing this fluidic actuator which acts as a continuous actuator. Shape control of elastic structures. In this system, by adjusting parameters such as fluid’s velocity, fluid’s density, and the eccentricity path’s equation of the channel, shape and deflection curve of the beam can be controlled. Several analytical examples are at last demonstrated considering different eccentricity paths for the channel with and without external load. Distinct characteristics are observed in the deflection curve associated with this kind of fluidic actuators, such that the tip deflection for a cantilever beam embedded with fluidic actuators does not necessarily occurs at the tip. This method can be applied in aircraft wings for getting higher lift or drag at the time of take off or landing.