Performance and flight dynamic characteristics of folding-wing aircraft

Nowadays, morphing technology has emerged as the major research area in unmanned aerial vehicle. New technologies such as composite and smart materials have enabled lighter and seamless out-of-plane morphing such as folding wings. The aim of this research is to investigate the flight performance and stability behaviors of a folding-wing aircraft by using simulation software. Point mass (3 dof) equations of motion are used for the performance analysis whereas linearized rigid body (6 dof) equations are used for the stability and control analysis. Results show that the folding-wing aircraft is capable of carrying out dissimilar missions via its morphing technology. The aircraft in its unfolded state can execute missions related to surveillance and reconnaissance as it possesses better maximum lift-to-drag ratio. At its fully-folded configuration, it can perform differently like a fighter with the ability to dash and climb faster at low altitude. Furthermore, the analysis shows the variation of stability and control characteristics owing to the morphing. Despite having better static stability and control, the fully-folded configuration is found to be less stable when it comes to Short Period, Phugoid and Dutch Roll motions. Last but not least, a yaw damper is designed to overcome Dutch Roll divergence which occurs in some regions of the flight envelope.Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering