Fig. 1: Bistable rotational mechanism.
From: Rotational bistable mechanisms for morphing wings and beyond
A An exemplary flight path of q drone showing different flight regimes. B A schematic morphing energy consumption comparison for a UAV with bistable morphing wings (this work) and a UAV with a traditional morphing system requiring a constant energy supply. C A schematic 3D model of an uncrewed aerial vehicle. D The proposed morphing wing with two bistable mechanisms consists of a leading edge (LE) morphing section, a fixed section, and a trailing edge (TE) morphing section. Both LE and TE sections can be morphed independently. The geometric design parameters of the bistable parts can tune the morphing angles for LE and TE. (E, i) Unassembled internal part, (ii) first stable state after assembly, (iii) and second stable state. F Elastic potential energy diagram from the finite element (FE) analysis. Two stable states have minimum potential energy at αLE = 0° and 17.4° for LE and at αLE = 0° and 17.5° for TE. G FE and experimental results depicting the torque-rotation graph for the leading edge and trailing edges in deflected and recovered states. Scale bars=10 mm.
