Claims
- 1. An airfoil member comprising:
at least one geometric morphing device comprising:
at least one inflatable member having at least one exterior wall and a plurality of inflated states; and a plurality of layers that are coupled to at least a portion of said at least one exterior wall and controlling the size, shape, and expansion ability of said geometric morphing device; said at least one geometric morphing device is adjustable in size and shape by changing inflated state of said at least one inflatable member.
- 2. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers comprises at least one fiber mesh that is coupled to at least a portion of said at least one exterior wall and changes in shape according to fiber angle.
- 3. An airfoil member as in claim 2 wherein fiber angles of fibers within said at least one fiber mesh change in response to changes in inflated state of said at least one inflatable member altering shape of said geometric morphing device.
- 4. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers form a matrix.
- 5. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers comprises at least one elastomer layer.
- 6. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers comprises at least one elastomer with fiber layer.
- 7. An airfoil member as in claim 6 wherein said elastomer with fiber layer comprises at least one fiber mesh with at least one fiber pattern.
- 8. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers comprises at least one fiber layer.
- 9. An airfoil member as in claim 8 wherein said at least one fiber layer comprises at least one fiber mesh with at least one fiber pattern.
- 10. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers comprises:
at least one elastomer layer; at least one elastomer with fiber layer coupled to said at least one elastomer layer; and at least one fiber layer coupled to said at least one elastomer with fiber layer.
- 11. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers comprises:
an inner elastomer layer; at least one elastomer with fiber layer coupled to said inner elastomer layer; at least one fiber layer coupled to said at least one elastomer with fiber layer; and an elastomer outer layer coupled to said at least one fiber layer.
- 12. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said plurality of layers are able to move relative to each other.
- 13. An airfoil member as in claim 1 wherein said geometric morphing device comprises a geometric morphing support layer encapsulating at least a portion of said at least one exterior wall and having a plurality of layers.
- 14. An airfoil member altering system for an airfoil member comprising:
at least one geometric morphing device comprising:
at least one inflatable member having at least one exterior wall and a plurality of inflated states; and a plurality of layers that are coupled to at least a portion of said at least one inflatable member and controlling size, shape, and expansion ability of said geometric morphing device; said at least one geometric morphing device is adjustable in size and shape by changing inflated state of said at least one inflatable member; at least one vehicle performance characteristic sensor generating vehicle performance signals; a pump fluidically coupled to said at least one inflatable member; and a controller electrically coupled to said at least one vehicle performance sensor and said pump and altering size and shape of said at least one geometric morphing device in response to said vehicle performance signals.
- 15. A method of forming a geometric morphing device for an aircraft comprising:
determining flight conditions for the aircraft; determining inflatable members distributions and characteristics in response to said flight conditions; determining layer distributions for a plurality of layers; determining fiber angle distributions and characteristics in response to said flight conditions; and forming geometric morphing device in response to said quantity and distribution of inflatable members, said layer distributions, said fiber angle distributions, and said fiber characteristics.
- 16. An airfoil member comprising:
at least one geometric morphing device comprising:
at least one inflatable member having at least one exterior wall and a plurality of inflated states; and a plurality of layers that are coupled to at least a portion of said at least one exterior wall and controlling size, shape, and expansion ability of said geometric morphing device; said plurality of layers comprising:
at least one elastomer layer; at least one elastomer with fiber layer coupled to said at least one elastomer layer; and at least one fiber layer coupled to said at least one elastomer with fiber layer; said at least one geometric morphing device is adjustable in size and shape by changing inflated state of said at least one inflatable member.
- 17. An airfoil member as in claim 16 wherein said elastomer with fiber layer comprises at least one fiber mesh with at least one fiber pattern.
- 18. An airfoil member as in claim 16 wherein said at least one fiber layer comprises at least one fiber mesh with at least one fiber pattern.
- 19. An airfoil member as in claim 16 wherein said plurality of layers comprises:
an inner elastomer layer coupled to said at least one elastomer with fiber layer; and an elastomer outer layer coupled to said at least one fiber layer.
- 20. An airfoil member as in claim 16 wherein said plurality of layers are able to move relative to each other.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present invention is related to U.S. patent application (Attorney Docket Number 02-0257) entitled “Geometric Morphing Wing with Expandable Spars” and U.S. patent application (Attorney Docket Number 02-0353) entitled “Geometric Morphing Wing”, which are incorporated by reference herein.