John Valasek 
Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures [PDF ebook] 

Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures provides a highly timely presentation of the state-of-the-art, future directions and technical requirements of morphing aircraft. Divided into three sections it addresses morphing aircraft, bio-inspiration, and smart structures with specific focus on the flight control, aerodynamics, bio-mechanics, materials, and structures of these vehicles as well as power requirements and the use of advanced piezo materials and smart actuators. The tutorial approach adopted by the contributors, including underlying concepts and mathematical formulations, unifies the methodologies and tools required to provide practicing engineers and applied researchers with the insight to synthesize morphing air vehicles and morphing structures, as well as offering direction for future research.

Table of Content

Acknowledgements – Valasek

Foreword – Roskam

1. Introduction to Aerospace Morphing – Valasek

PART I: BIO-INSPIRATION

2. Active and Aeroelastic Wing Morphing in Birds, Bats and Insects: Mechanism and Function – Taylor

3. Bio-inspiration for Morphing of Micro Air Vehicles – Abate

PART II: CONTROL AND DYNAMICS

4. Morphing Unmanned Air Vehicle With Intelligent Shape, Structural, and Flight Control – Valasek

5. Modeling and Simulation to Study Flight Dynamics of Morphing Wing Aircraft-Obradovic

6. Modeling of Ornithopter Flight Dynamics – Grauer

7. Flight Dynamics of Morphing Aircraft with Time-Varying Inertias – Grant

8. Optimal Trajectory Control of Morphing Aircraft in Perching Maneuvers – Wickenheiser

PART III: SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES

9. Morphing Smart Material Actuator Control Using Reinforcement Learning – Kirkpatrick

10. Incorporation of Smart Actuators into Morphing Aerostructures – Lagouadas

11. Hierarchical Control and Planning for Advanced Morphing Structural Systems – Chakravorty

12. A Collective Assessment – Valasek