Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Adaptive surfaces are estimated to reduce fossil fuel consumption by more than 12% and noise emissions by 40% per flight. Adaptation involves detecting a change in the environment through sensors and then employing actuators to respond to this change by modifying the shape of aircraft components, for e.g., altering the wing shape, deploying the landing gears, and moving the control surfaces. The major challenge in shape adaption continues to be the non-existence of engineering materials that are simultaneously lightweight, load-bearing, and shape adaptable. This Canada Research Chair application proposes to design and develop multifunctional composites via additive manufacturing by embedding smart materials for actuation into structural reinforced polymer composites to overcome the challenge of traditional materials. Additionally, finite element-based multifunctional material models will be developed which will eventually result in substantial time and resource savings towards the development of innovative multifunctional structures for the aircraft of the future. The research program will achieve the above-mentioned goals by: 1) Increasing the compatibility between the smart materials and FRP and the reliability (repeatability, and fatigue life) of AM fabricated multifunctional components; 2) Developing material-process-property relationships to enhance the fundamental understanding of shape transformation behavior and its effect on the structural integrity of aircraft components in order to design materials and fabrication processes to achieve the desired multifunctionality. Lightweight and compact adaptive structures made with multifunctional materials, would be vital for regional jets, air-mobility, and electrically-propelled aircraft.