Comparative study of two lay-up sequence dispositions for flexible skin design of morphing leading edge

Morphing leading edge has great potential for noise abatement and aerodynamic efficiency improvement. The drooping effect is realized by bending of the flexible skin which encloses to form the leading edge. Since the flexible skin is often made of composite laminates of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP), the lay-up sequences have become the determinant, which affects not only the morphing quality but also the manufacturing complexity. Two optimizing methods of lay-up sequences are comparatively studied. In the first method, the laminal quantities in 0°, ±45° and 90° vary independently, while in the second one, the concept of isotropic laminate unit [0/45/−45/90]s is employed and the unit quantity is the unique variable. Final evaluation demonstrates that for both methods there is insignificant impact to the overall morphing quality; however, specific concern is equally necessary for these two methods to the tip of the leading edge where the skin is at its minimum thickness and bears the most severe bending deformation. In terms of computational efficiency and post-processing labor, the second method has better performance.