Development of Deployable Wings for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Compliant

137 Pages·2017·2.22 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations
2007-07-06
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Steven D. Landon
Brigham Young University - Provo
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Landon, Steven D., "Development of Deployable Wings for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using
Compliant Mechanisms" (2007). Theses and Dissertations. 952.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/952
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DEVELOPMENT OF DEPLOYABLE WINGS FOR SMALL

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES USING

COMPLIANT MECHANISMS

by

Steven D. Landon

A thesis submitted to the faculty of

Brigham Young University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Brigham Young University

August 2007
Copyright © 2007 Steven D. Landon

All Rights Reserved
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL

of a thesis submitted by

Steven D. Landon

This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee
and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory.

___________________________ ______________________________________
Date Spencer P. Magleby, Chair

___________________________ ______________________________________
Date Larry L. Howell

___________________________ ______________________________________
Date Brian D. Jensen
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Steven D.
Landon in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical
style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style require-
ments; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and
(3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for
submission to the university library.

___________________________ ______________________________________
Date Spencer P. Magleby
Chair, Graduate Committee

Accepted for the Department

______________________________________
Matthew R. Jones
Graduate Coordinator

Accepted for the College

______________________________________
Alan R. Parkinson
Dean, Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering
and Technology
ABSTRACT

DEVELOPMENT OF DEPLOYABLE WINGS FOR SMALL

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES USING

COMPLIANT MECHANISMS

Steven D. Landon

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Master of Science

Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) have recently gained attention due to their
increased ability to perform sophisticated missions with less cost and/or risk than their
manned counterparts. This thesis develops approaches to the use of compliant
mechanisms in the design of deployable wings for small UAVs. Although deployable
wings with rigid-link mechanisms have been used in the past to maintain flight endurance
while minimizing required storage volume, compliant mechanisms offer many
advantages in manufacturability and potential space savings due to function sharing of
components.
A number of compliant, deployable wing concepts are generated and a
classification system for them is formed. The pool of generated concepts serves as a
basis for stimulating future concept ideas. A methodology is also proposed for evaluating
concepts for a given application. The approach to developing compliant designs for
certain applications is illustrated through two example designs, which demonstrate key
portions of the proposed design process. Each is modeled and analyzed to demonstrate
viability.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First I express thanks to my Heavenly Father for His support and the opportunities
I’ve been given in education, including this research. I thank my parents for their
encouragement and inspiration through all the years as I grow up. I also wish to thank
my wife, Melissa, for listening, for her support during the late nights and hours of
research, and for her inspiration and help with some of the prototypes.
I thank each of the members of my committee: Dr. Magleby for continually
meeting with and guiding me, Dr. Howell for giving direction and advice, and Dr. Jensen
for inspiring me to explore mechanism modeling. I also thank Dr. Jerry Bowman for his
help early in the process as I sought to understand flight principles and design objectives
for small aircraft.
I appreciatively acknowledge BYU for allowing me the use of their facilities
while building prototypes and collaborating with others. My appreciation goes to each of
the students I worked with in the lab, as well as Jon Ostler for providing pictures of his
prototype compliant airplane wing.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction................................................................................................1
1.1 Background..........................................................................................................1
1.2 Motivation............................................................................................................4
1.2.1 Role of Compliant Mechanisms...................................................................5
1.3 Objective..............................................................................................................6
1.3.1 Delimitations................................................................................................7
1.3.2 Potential Impact of the Thesis......................................................................8
Chapter 2 Literature Review......................................................................................9
2.1 Historical Work....................................................................................................9
2.1.1 Biological Models......................................................................................10
2.1.2 Fixed-Wing Innovations............................................................................12
2.2 Contemporary Work..........................................................................................15
2.2.1 Early Advancements..................................................................................16
2.2.2 Tube-Launched Missiles............................................................................17
2.2.3 Gun-Launched UAVs................................................................................19
2.3 Compliant Wing Designs...................................................................................21
2.3.1 Fully Compliant Wings..............................................................................22
2.3.2 Compliant Mechanisms.............................................................................27
2.4 Summary............................................................................................................32
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