Bistable devices for morphing rotor blades

This dissertation presents two bistable concepts for morphing rotor blades. These concepts are simple and are composed of bistable devices that act as coupling structures between an actuator and the rotor blade. Bistable or "snap-through" mechanisms have two stable equilibrium states and are a novel way to achieve large actuation output stroke at relatively modest effort for gross rotor morphing applications. This is because in addition to the large actuation stroke associated with the snap-through (relative to conventional actuator/amplification systems) coming at relatively low actuation effort, no locking is required in either equilibrium state (since they are both stable). The first concept that is presented in this dissertation is a that is composed of a bistable twisting device that twists the tip of helicopter rotor blades. This work examines the performance of the presented bistable twisting device for rotor morphing, specifically, blade tip twist under an aerodynamic lift load. The device is analyzed using finite element analysis to predict its load carrying capability and bistable behavior.;The second concept that is presented is a concept that is composed of a bistable arch for rotor blade chord extension. The bistable arch is coupled to a thin flat plate that is supported by rollers. Increasing the chord of the rotor blade is expected to generate more lift-load and improve helicopter performance. In this work, a methodology is presented to design the bistable arches for chord morphing using the finite element analysis and pseudo-rigid body model method. This work also examines the effect of different arches, arch hinge size and shape, inertial loads and rigidity on arch performance. Finally, this work shows results from an experiment that was conducted to validate the developed numerical model and demonstrates how the arch can be actuated using a Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wire to extend the chord of a helicopter rotor blade.