NASA and MIT present a plane made of shapeshift composites.

Engineers from the US Space Agency and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a variable shape aircraft wing technology that has no moving control surfaces that currently exist in all aircraft. The wing consists of tiny identical elements, thanks to which it can change the shape during the flight, so you can control the flight of the plane in every aspect.

The new system allows deformation of the whole wing or its parts. It is possible by using in its structure a mixture of rigid (airgel) and elastic (rubber-like) materials. Thousands of tiny components are twisted into a triangle shape, all in order to create an open, lightweight lattice framework in meta-material technology. The elements are covered with a thin layer of polymeric material. This concept allows you to reduce the weight of the wings and quickly adapt them to different types of flying vehicles.

It must be emphasized here that the lattice frame of the new wing has a density of 5.6 kg per cubic meter. For comparison, the rubber has a density of about 1500 kilograms per cubic meter. This shows that scientists from NASA and MIT have managed to obtain a meta-material that is 300 times lighter than rubber, but at the same time is both as flexible and stiff as it is. The shape-shifting wing has already passed the first successful wind tunnel tests at the Langley Research Center. Researchers explain that thanks to their technology, you can now create any wing geometry that is ideally suited to the type and purpose of the aircraft.

New technology for the production of ultra-efficient wings from NASA and MIT can also be used in the production of car bodies, bridges, transmission antennas and wind turbine blades. Americans believe that the easy-to-produce, durable and low-cost technology will allow us to change our reality in terms of ecology and traveling around the world.

Source: GeekWeek.pl/Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Photo: NASA / MIT