A variable stiffness morphing skin: preparation and properties. (9th November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ren, Xiaoming; Zhu, Guangming
• Is Part Of: Smart materials and structures. Volume 30:Number 12(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-11-09
• Subjects: morphing skins -- variable stiffness -- shape memory -- in-plane -- out-of-plane; Smart materials -- Periodicals; Strucural design -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-665X/ac32e8
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0964-1726

Abstract

Abstract: In the course of flight, morphing skins play an important role in morphing aircrafts. Shape memory polymer (SMP) with variable stiffness performance is a good candidate material for skin. In this paper, a series of SMP morphing skins were prepared from hydro-epoxy resin, carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN) and maleic anhydride. By adjusting molecular weight and content of CTBN, in-plane properties and out-of-plane properties of morphing skins can be adjusted. Due to the in-plane tensile stress acting on the skin during flight, tensile test was carried out to study its in-plane performance. After testing, skin can resist maximum in-plane tensile strength of 63.7 MPa. As for the out-of-plane performance of the skin, shape memory test was studied in this paper. All morphing skins have 100% shape fixity rate (Rf) and fast shape recovery rate (Rr). When toughened by CTBN of 10% of 4000 molecular weight with a mass fraction, the skin can recover its out-of-plane deformed shape in 33 s. The SMP skins were proved to be a promising candidate for morphing skins.