Meta-structures for Aircraft Morphing Wing Design

Inspired by nature, this research introduces a hybrid morphing wing that utilizes meta-structure architectures featuring auxetic ribs and multistable spars for both passive and active shape adaptation. The metastructure design incorporates a tetra-antichiral auxetic rib that provides passive camber variation through load-dependent lattice expansion, while a multistable trailing-edge spar enables discrete, energy-neutral control surface deflection. The auxetic geometry was optimized using multiple analytical stiffness models and validated through finite element analysis, demonstrating a 37% increase in trailing-edge deformation compared to a mass-matched conventional honeycomb rib, while maintaining comparable stress levels. The multistable spar, inspired by natural snap-through mechanisms, was designed using a TPU hyperelastic model and shown to support multiple stable configurations, including upward, neutral, downward, and extended positions for the proposed morphing wing. The simulated deflection range closely matched the ±17° aileron travel of the Cessna 172, selected as a benchmark due to its status as the most-produced aircraft in history. Together, the auxetic rib core and multistable spar form a lightweight, hinge-free morphing system capable of both continuous and discrete deformation modes, demonstrating the potential of meta-structures to reduce actuation complexity and enhance aerodynamic adaptability in wing structures for future autonomous aircraft.