Seminar: Towards the Design of a Morphing Supersonic Low Boom Aircraft Using Shape Memory Alloy Actuators - May 13

Dimitris Lagoudas
Distinguished Professor, Aerospace and Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University
Tuesday, May 13 | 10 a.m. | AERO 111

Abstract: The return of commercial supersonic flight requires innovative solutions to be developed that meet noise and efficiency requirements for overland flight. To study such a possibility NASA is supporting a multi-disciplinary team of academic and industrial experts to explore the potential of activating small real-time geometric outer mold line reconfigurations to minimize boom signatures in response to changing ambient conditions, thereby enabling noise-compliant supersonic flight. On-board LIDAR measurements will provide information about the local atmosphere and will aide in the prediction of how loud the sonic boom will be just ahead of the aircraft. Small, distributed shape memory alloy actuators will then be used to modify the shape of the aircraft to affect a desired change in the pressure field to reduce sonic boom noise for the upcoming flight and atmospheric conditions. The presentation will focus on the development of the appropriate shape memory alloys based on the requirement of reliable repeated actuation up to 100,000 thermal actuation cycles under high levels of stress. Various morphing configurations will be discussed and the path to an upcoming flight test at NASA Armstrong will be described. 

Bio: Dimitris C. Lagoudas is a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University. He has served as Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research for Texas A&M University System, Department Head of Aerospace Engineering, and as an Associate Vice President for Research at Texas A&M University. 

D.C. Lagoudas’ research involves the design, characterization and modeling of multifunctional materials at multiple scales, with averaging micromechanics methods developed to bridge the various length scales and functionalities, including mechanical, thermal and electrical. His research team is recognized internationally for modeling and characterization of shape memory alloys. He has co-authored more than 600 scientific publications in archival journals and conference proceedings and one of the widely used books on shape memory alloys. 

D.C. Lagoudas received the 2006 ASME Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Prize in recognition of his contributions to the modeling and characterization of shape memory alloys and their use in aerospace structures and he is the 2011 recipient of the Smart Structure and Materials Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Fellow of AIAA, ASME, IOP and SES and was named a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University in 2013.