Morphing Aircraft Technology Survey

*Morphing research projects will revolutionize the costs of building and operating aircraft. These technologies will enable aircraft to be more effi cient and operate under a wide range of varying flight conditions. Morphing technologies will be used to improve aircraft performance, expand its flight envelope, replace conventional control surfaces, reduce drag to improve range and reduce vibration/flu tter. There might never be a single solution for a morphing aircraft. The suitability of a type of morphing technology that is integrated into an aircraft will be dependent on size, range and flight performance envelope. The largest economical motivator for morphing aircraft will be the economies of scale of having a fleet of single type of morphing aircraft capable of fulfilling a variety of mission objectives and functions under many flight conditions , as opposed to a fleet of several types of aircraft , each tailored for specific missions , and their corresponding maintenance and support requirements. It is the objective of this survey paper to organize and summarize the many varying projects, concepts , and technologies of morphing aircraft. This surve y is not all inclusive. The two general approaches to morphing aircraft technologies are a Materials and Structural Approach , and a MultiDisciplinary Optimization and Systems Approach.