The HECS wing was developed by NASA Langley Research Center and has a nonplanar, hyper-elliptically swept leading and trailing edge as well as spanwise camber. For this wing, the leading and trailing edges are swept back according to a hyper-elliptical equation. The span of the wing is also defined with hyper-elliptical anhedral giving it nonplanar spanwise camber. A single-degree-of-freedom mechanism is developed to provide a means for the wing to continuously change shape from its nonplanar to planar configuration. The mechanism uses a repeating quaternary-binary link configuration to translate motion from one segment to the next. A synthesis of the mechanism is performed, such that with one input to the first segment of the chain, the other wing segments move into their desired positions. Linear aerodynamic theory is applied to the HECS wing configuration at certain morphed positions in order to predict the aerodynamic loads. This work performs a linear static analysis of the mechanism at different morphed positions. A finite element representation of the mechanism as a structure is developed. Using the predicted aerodynamic loads, a structural analysis is performed. The analysis investigates different materials and cross sections of the members to determine a need for redesign due to failure from buckling and bending stress. From the analysis of the mechanism, a design is finalized which lightens the structure as well as increases the strength. These results are beneficial for the next phase of model development of the mechanism. / Master of Science

In order to optimize the flight characteristics of aircraft, wings must be designed for the specific mission an aircraft will see. An airplane rarely has one specific mission, and therefore is usually designed as a compromise to meet many flight objectives with a single wing surface. Large-scale shape change of a wing would enable a wing design to be optimized for multiple missions. Engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center are investigating a new Hyper-Elliptic Cambered Span (HECS) wing configuration that may lead to increased stability and control, and to improved aerodynamic efficiency, during flight. However, during take-off and landing, a conventional wing design (not curved down) may be preferred. Thus a need has been developed for a wing whose contour can be changed during flight. The so-called "morphing" that is required has been limited by a lack of feasible design solutions. One design concept is to use an adaptive structure, with an airfoil skin applied, as the shape-changing driver. Most designs of this kind require multiple actuators to control the changing shape. This thesis introduces a novel design for a morphing wing mechanism using a single degree-of-freedom kinematic chain. In this work, the concept is introduced with sufficient background to aid in understanding. The design tools developed include a synthesis procedure and a sensitivity analysis to determine the effects of manufacturing errors. / Master of Science