Aerionics: An Update on this New Aero Industry for Flight Control

Document Number: 2009-01-3247

Date Published: November 2009

Author(s):
Robert N. Schmidt - Orbital Research Inc.
Wilfredo Toledo - US Army ARDEC
Zak Sowle - Orbital Research Inc
Srikanth Vasudevan - Orbital Research Inc

Abstract:
The Wright Brothers and the French invented first and second generations of flight control on heavier than air craft by introducing wing warping and the aileron. For the past century, this has been the state-of-the-art for controlling aircraft. Starting in the early 1990s, third generation flight control systems have been developed using new micro-scale actuators and advanced algorithms that focus on controlling the boundary layer, rather than the bulk airflow. Built on the theory of boundary-layer flow control by Prandtl in 1904, today’s modern flow control concepts and devices offer significant advantages and benefits compared to conventional movable control surfaces for air vehicle control. Owing to the significant technological advances and breakthroughs in the field of microdevices and computing, novel actuator schemes and controller designs are now being realized for the development of future revolutionary air vehicle systems. This paper updates the highlights that were presented two years ago and discusses the advances that have taken place with live fire tests and new modeling of air vehicles. The progress in this evolving nascent industry we describe as “Aerionics” will be reviewed. It is envisioned that this new industry will breed a fundamental transformation in the design of future air vehicles and their flight control systems.

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See other papers presented at SAE 2009 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, November 2009, Seattle, WA, USA, Session: Flight Sciences - Aircraft Design, Methods and General Aerodynamics

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