Traditional aircraft technology has many moving parts, actuators, cables, motors, lubricants, hydraulic gears, and other screws required, which all make these components take up weight and valuable space resources on any aircraft.
Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center are using nitinol shape memory alloys to create morphing wings. Parts made from nitinol shape memory alloys are typically 10% to 20% the size and weight of traditional parts, and aircraft manufacturers, researchers, and government agencies such as NASA can use these metals to do more than just reduce fuel costs. Nitinol sheet can also be used to add moving parts to planes that are often too redundant in size and weight using traditional mechanical devices. Temperature-activated folding wings will allow aircraft carriers to cram more fighter jets on their decks.
- Nitinol used in Flight
Foldable Wings
Engineers at NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center and Boeing have successfully used nitinol shape memory alloys (SMA) to move a full-scale wing section of an F/A-18 Hornet fighter.
Engineers removed the old 136 kg wing section from the original F/A-18, allowing the team to fold the entire wing section using a newly developed nickel-titanium-hafnium wing. The team developed a new nickel-titanium-hafnium high-temperature SMA torque tube actuator capable of applying 564Nm of torque.
Starting from a horizontal position, the SMA actuator is electrically heated and cooled on command to move the wing up and down 90°. The researchers were also able to precisely move the wing section to any selected position in the scan.
Nitinol Shape Memory Metal Wing Bending Actuator
This successful test is a milestone for the Spanwise Adaptive Wing program, which is studying the ability to bend or shape sections of aircraft wings in flight. The ability to shape wings can improve aircraft performance by reducing weight and drag while improving aircraft control.
NASA will continue to test the SMA actuator on the F/A-18 wing with the goal of increasing the torque capability to 2260N and applying it to the leading and trailing edges of the wing section. This research is part of NASA’s Spanwise Adaptive Wing program, which is studying how onboard adaptive wings can improve aircraft efficiency and control capabilities.