In-plane corrugated cosine honeycomb for 1D morphing skin and its application on variable camber wing

A novel 0-Poisson’s ratio cosine honeycomb support structure of flexible skin is proposed. Mechanical model of the structure is analyzed with the energy method, finite element method (FEM) and experiments have been performed to validate the theoretical model. The in-plane characteristics of the cosine honeycomb are compared with accordion honeycomb through analytical models and experiments. Finally, the application of the cosine honeycomb on a variable camber wing is studied. Studies show that mechanical model agrees well with results of FEM and experiments. The transverse non-dimensional elastic modulus of the cosine honeycomb increases (decreases) when the wavelength or the wall width increases (decreases), or when the amplitude decreases (increases). Compared with accordion honeycomb, the transverse non-dimensional elastic modulus of the cosine honeycomb is smaller, which means the driving force is smaller and the power consumption is less during deformation. In addition, the cosine honeycomb can satisfy the deforming requirements of the variable camber wing.