Modern Defense Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (2): 1-18.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1009-086x.2025.02.001

• Expert Manuscript •     Next Articles

Review of Overall Benefit Assessment and Optimization Methods for Morphing Aircraft

Xiru LI1,2, Peng BAI2   

  1. 1.Rainbow UAV Technology Co. ,Ltd. ,Beijing 100074,China
    2.China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics,Beijing 100074,China
  • Received:2025-02-19 Revised:2025-03-20 Online:2025-04-28 Published:2025-04-30

可变形飞行器总体收益评估及优化方法综述

李喜茹1,2, 白鹏2   

  1. 1.彩虹无人机科技有限公司,北京 100074
    2.中国航天空气动力技术研究院,北京 100074
  • 作者简介:李喜茹(1988-),男,吉林长春人。高工,博士生,研究方向为飞行器总体设计。
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金(U22B20133)

Abstract:

Morphing aircraft, which can change their aerodynamic configuration as needed to optimize aerodynamics and flight performance throughout the entire mission, enhancing overall performance and expanding mission profiles, is one of the important development directions for future aircraft. The overall benefits of morphing technology are a key prerequisite for the practical application of morphing technology. The significance on assessing the overall benefits of morphing aircraft is pointed out, and the research status of the overall benefits assessment of morphing aircraft since 2000 is introduced, including aircraft types, morphing methods, assessment methods, and assessment results. The overall benefits of morphing aircraft are sorted from the aspects of performance benefits and comprehensive benefits. The overall benefits assessment results show that the benefits brought by morphing technology are not as huge as expected. The use of morphing technology can increase the maximum single overall performance index by 21%, and most single overall performance indices are improved by no more than 10%. There are also cases where the overall performance benefit is less than 1%, or even no benefit when using morphing technology; the use of morphing technology can bring benefits to some overall performance, but it can also lead to a decrease in some overall performance, and increase production and maintenance costs, etc.; from the scheme demonstration, detailed design, to production and test flight, as the research goes deeper, the overall benefits assessed gradually decrease. Optimization methods to improve benefits are summarized, and their characteristics are analyzed. The existing problems in the overall benefit assessment are summarized, the future of morphing aircraft overall benefit assessment is prospected, and development suggestions are given.

Key words: morphing aircraft, overall benefits, overall performance benefits, comprehensive benefits, optimization methods

摘要:

可变形飞行器根据需要适时改变气动布局,优化全任务段的气动和飞行性能,提升其总体性能,拓展任务剖面,是未来飞行器的重要发展方向之一。可变形飞行器有总体收益是可变形技术能够落地的关键前提条件,指出可变形飞行器总体收益评估的重要意义,介绍了自2000年以来可变形飞行器总体收益评估的研究现状,包括飞行器类型、变形方式、评估方法、评估结果等,从性能收益、综合收益2个方面梳理了可变形飞行器总体收益,总体收益评估结果表明:变形技术带来的收益并没有理想中那么巨大,使用变形技术使得单项总体性能指标最大提高21%,大多数单项总体性能指标提高不超过10%,也存在使用变形技术总体性能收益低于1%,甚至没有收益的情况;使用变形技术可以使得部分总体性能获得收益,但也会导致某些总体性能下降,增加生产制造及维护成本等;方案论证、详细设计、生产试飞,随着研究的不断深入,评估出来的总体收益逐步减小。归纳了提高收益的优化方法,并对其特点进行分析。总结了目前总体收益评估存在的问题,对可变形飞行器总体收益评估的未来进行了展望,给出了发展建议。

关键词: 可变形飞行器, 总体收益, 总体性能收益, 综合收益, 优化方法

CLC Number: