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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp015d86p266m
Title: Design of a Folding-Wing Submersible Aircraft
Authors: Qin, Allen
Advisors: Stengel, Robert
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Class Year: 2016
Abstract: A submersible aircraft has a large variety of envisioned applications: environmental research, search-and-rescue, surveillance, military defense, etc. Although there have been some success in submersible rotorcraft designs, no successful fixed-wing designs have been demonstrated. Follow-ing bio-inspiration from aquatic diving birds such as the cormorant, a folding wing mechanism is identified as a solution for the large hydrodynamic drag given by the large wingspan of conventional aircraft. The actuation mechanism utilizes a pair of four-bar linkages to constrain the motion of three primary joints to one, allowing for the full contraction and extension of the wing to be actuated by a single servomotor. The mechanism is supported within a detailed, original submersible fuselage design. Although the full manufacture of the design was not attempted, the folding wing mechanism and its integration with a submersible fuselage was conceptually validated by the physical demonstration of a positive result.
Extent: 64 pages
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp015d86p266m
Type of Material: Princeton University Senior Theses
Language: en_US
Appears in Collections:Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 1924-2023

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