High-Performance Composites

JUL 2014

High-Performance Composites is read by qualified composites industry professionals in the fields of continuous carbon fiber and other high-performance composites as well as the associated end-markets of aerospace, military, and automotive.

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FOCUS ON DESIGN 5 4 | H I G H - P E R F O R M A N C E C O M P O S I T E S E stablished in 2012, Dzyne Technologies (Reston, Va.) has achieved considerable success in engineering innovations, in- cluding a patented "roadable" submarine and several long-range, vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL) fying machines. When the company launches its carbon fber composite ROTORwing prototype unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in July 2014, it ALL-COMPOSITE ROTORWING won't be just another UAV. Unlike many conventional UAVs, the 10-ft/3m wingspan ROTORwing technology demonstrator will need neither runway, catapult nor net for launch and recovery. Called Pathfnder, it was designed at Dzyne's Irvine, Calif., fa- cility under contract to the Air Force Re- search Laboratory (AFRL, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio). The proto- type demonstrates the fight mechanics of Dzyne's basic concept. Spin power "The principle behind ROTORwing is using the wings as rotors, and the fight engines to power the rotors," ex- plains Mark Page, Dzyne's cofounder and chief scientist/VP. From a station- ary position, tail on the ground, the ROTORwing will lift off straight up, in VTOL style. To prepare for take-off, ROTORwing frst rotates its wings from the fight position (the wing chord Composites enable construction, and handle unique VTOL loads, of unmanned • Three major bodies — wings, fuselage and tail — all move with respect to each other. • Symmetrical airframe surfaces simplify tooling. • Wing ribs 3-D printed, using fused deposition modeling technology. DESIGN RESULTS DZYNE/AC&A; PATHFINDER SUBSCALE ROTORWING UAV Upper/lower fuselage sections molded from single tool 10 ft/3m Wing spar (carbon fber tubing overwrapped w/ ±45° fabric) Conventional prop engines on rotating wings eliminate weighty helicopter gearbox FLIGHT POSITION Ailerons defect up and down during each rotation to alter attitude (see p. 56) LAUNCH POSITION Identical tail sections (4) molded from single tool During take-offs and landings, wings and body rotate while tail section remains stationary Wingskins topped w/ ±45° fabric Symmetrical cowling halves molded from single tool Small motor "despins" tail during wing rotation Wings tilt in opposite directions 75° from vertical for take-offs and landings Upper/lower left and right wing sections are identical, molded from one tool. 0714hpc FOD-OK.indd 54 6/17/2014 11:12:44 AM

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