An airfoil of an aerodynamic surface including: a control surface having an upper surface and a lower surface, and an actuator configured to elevate or lower the control surface, wherein at least a portion of one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the control surface is auxetic with a negative Poisson ratio, and the other of the upper surface and the lower surface of the control surface includes a material with a higher Poisson ratio.

An airfoil of an aerodynamic surface including: a control surface having an upper surface and a lower surface, and an actuator configured to elevate or lower the control surface, wherein at least a portion of one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the control surface is auxetic with a negative Poisson ratio, and the other of the upper surface and the lower surface of the control surface includes a material with a higher Poisson ratio.

A blade seal for sealing a gap between a first aircraft component and a second aircraft component, including a flexible seal member having a first end for attaching to the first aircraft component and a second end for extending towards the second aircraft component, a sensor and an actuator directly coupled to the flexible seal member. The sensor is configured to detect deformation of the flexible seal member and send a signal to the actuator in response to the deformation, and the actuator is configured to impart a load on the flexible seal member and to activate only in response to the signal received directly from the sensor by the actuator to counter the detected deformation of the flexible seal member.

A morphing airfoil includes a dynamic flexible skin system that is capable of carrying high level aerodynamic (or fluid) pressure loads over a structural surface. The structural surface can morph and bend in response to control inputs to change a lift force without separate movable control surfaces. A plurality of standoff mounts are attached to an inner surface of anisotropic skin. The standoff mounts include through apertures for receiving a flexible stringer. The anisotropic skin is attached to underlying structure through the flexible stringers. The flexible stringers interface with actuated position control ribs and passive compliant support ribs. A control system causes the underlying support structure to move to a desired location which in turn causes the skin to bend and/or flex without exceeding a stress threshold and thus vary the lift and drag distributions along a span of the airfoil without separate control surfaces.

A wing, a method of controlling lift on a wing, and a system to produce lift on a wing are provided. The wing may include a fore-element, an aft-element, a pivotable linkage that operatively connects the aft-element leading edge to the fore-element trailing edge in a span-wise direction, and an actuator. The actuator may deflect the aft-element through a predetermined deflection angle about the pivotable linkage relative to the fore-element within less than or equal to two convective periods. The method may include deflecting a span-wise flap through the deflection angle in less than or equal to two convective periods to produce high lift. The system may include a sensor to detect an input and a controller to deflect the span-wise flap of the wing by the deflection angle in not more than two convective periods based on the received input signal.

A wing, a method of controlling lift on a wing, and a system to produce lift on a wing are provided. The wing may include a fore-element, an aft-element, a pivotable linkage that operatively connects the aft-element leading edge to the fore-element trailing edge in a span-wise direction, and an actuator. The actuator may deflect the aft-element through a predetermined deflection angle about the pivotable linkage relative to the fore-element within less than or equal to two convective periods. The method may include deflecting a span-wise flap through the deflection angle in less than or equal to two convective periods to produce high lift. The system may include a sensor to detect an input and a controller to deflect the span-wise flap of the wing by the deflection angle in not more than two convective periods based on the received input signal.

An adjustable foil having a suction surface and a pressure surface. The foil comprises an adjustable internal frame comprising a base, a plurality of articulately connected sections forming the suction surface of the foil, arranged consecutively from the leading edge of the foil to the trailing edge of the foil, and a plurality of frame struts, each articulately connected to the base and to a section of the plurality of sections. The foil is movable from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration by rotating the frame struts with respect to the base.

An adjustable foil having a suction surface and a pressure surface. The foil comprises an adjustable internal frame comprising a base, a plurality of articulately connected sections forming the suction surface of the foil, arranged consecutively from the leading edge of the foil to the trailing edge of the foil, and a plurality of frame struts, each articulately connected to the base and to a section of the plurality of sections. The foil is movable from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration by rotating the frame struts with respect to the base.

Morphable active corrugate structure and aeronautical wings are provided herein including one or more skins or envelopes, and a sheet having independently actuable hinge domains attached to the one or more skins or envelopes and independently actuable facet domains, each of the hinge domains and facet domains configured with through-thickness differential expansion coefficients, wherein differential strains in at least one of the hinge domains or the facet domains cause the sheet to expand or contract along a flexible axis of the sheet, wherein the sheet is attached to the upper and lower skins at respective upper and lower of the hinge domains.

Morphable active corrugate structure and aeronautical wings are provided herein including one or more skins or envelopes, and a sheet having independently actuable hinge domains attached to the one or more skins or envelopes and independently actuable facet domains, each of the hinge domains and facet domains configured with through-thickness differential expansion coefficients, wherein differential strains in at least one of the hinge domains or the facet domains cause the sheet to expand or contract along a flexible axis of the sheet, wherein the sheet is attached to the upper and lower skins at respective upper and lower of the hinge domains.