Active Wing

The MIT/NASA Langley Active Wing has as its main objective the demonstration of new actuation technology for the suppression of vibrations and stabilization of transport aircraft wings. This project applies these new actuation techniques with state-of-the-art control designs to improve the gust response of a wing for both load alleviation and ride comfort.. Made of a graphite/epoxy composite laminate, it has piezoelectric actuation packages distributed on the spar from the root to roughly 60% of the spar length. This spar construction is covered with a segmented aerodynamic shell to provide more realistic aerodynamics. Further investigations into methods of improving the performance are being conducted currently.