Thermally configurable structural elements especially useful for aircraft components

Abstract

Thermally configurable structural elements (e.g., aircraft components such as an aircraft winglet spar) capable of assuming at least first and second structural configurations are provided whereby the structural element includes an integral actuation mechanism provided by at least one thermally configurable region, and at least one non-thermally configurable region which is unitarily contiguous with the at least one thermally configurable region. The at least one thermally configurable region is capable of assuming at least first and second positional orientations in response to the presence or absence of a thermal input to thereby cause the structural element to assume the at least first and second structural configurations, respectively. The thermally and non-thermally configurable regions may be formed of sintered shape memory alloy (SMA) particles and sintered non-SMA particles formed by an additive layer manufacturing (ALM) process, such as 3D printing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A thermally configurable structural element capable of assuming at least first and second structural configurations, wherein the structural element comprises an integral actuation mechanism comprised of:
 at least one thermally configurable region, and   at least one non-thermally configurable region which is unitarily contiguous with the at least one thermally configurable region, wherein   the at least one thermally configurable region is capable of assuming at least first and second positional orientations in response to the presence or absence of a thermal input to thereby cause the structural element to assume the at least first and second structural configurations, respectively.   
     
     
         2 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 1 , wherein the structural element is an aircraft structural component. 
     
     
         3 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 2 , wherein the aircraft structural component is a winglet spar. 
     
     
         4 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one thermally and non-thermally configurable regions are comprised of sintered shape memory alloy (SMA) particles and sintered non-SMA particles, respectively. 
     
     
         5 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 4 , wherein the at least one thermally configurable region comprises the sintered shape memory alloy (SMA) particles in addition to sintered superelastic (SE) alloy particles. 
     
     
         6 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 5 , wherein the sintered SMA particles and sintered SE alloy particles are admixed with one another. 
     
     
         7 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 4 , wherein the sintered SMA particles and the sintered non-SMA particles are 3D laser-sintered SMA and non-SMA particles, respectively. 
     
     
         8 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 4 , wherein the sintered SMA particles are comprised of Ni—Ti based alloys and/or Cu-based alloys. 
     
     
         9 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 8 , wherein the SMA particles are shape memory alloys selected from the group consisting of Ni—Ti, Ni—Al, Cu—Zn, Cu—Zn—Al, Cu—Zn—Sn, Cu—Zn—Si, Cu—Zn—Ga, Cu—Cu—Sn, Au—Cd, Fe—Pt, Mg—Cu, Fe—Mn—Si—Cr—Ni 
     
     
         10 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 4 , wherein the sintered non-SMA particles are non-shape memory alloys selected from the group consisting of aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and titanium alloys. 
     
     
         11 . The thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 4 , wherein the sintered SMA particles are formed of a shape memory Ni—Ti alloy, and wherein the sintered non-SMA particles are formed of a non-shape memory aluminum alloy. 
     
     
         12 . An aircraft winglet comprising the thermally configurable structural element as defined in  claim 1 , wherein
 the at least one thermally configurable region is capable of causing the winglet to assume at least two different aerodynamic configurations in response to presence or absence of a thermal input, respectively.   
     
     
         13 . The aircraft winglet according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least two different aerodynamic configurations comprise different angular orientations relative to lengthwise and/or chordwise extents of an aircraft wing. 
     
     
         14 . The aircraft winglet according to  claim 13 , wherein the thermally configurable structural element is a winglet spar. 
     
     
         15 . An aircraft which comprises the aircraft winglet according to  claim 12 . 
     
     
         16 . An aircraft comprising:
 an aircraft wing;   a winglet at a terminal end of the wing, the winglet having a winglet spar capable of assuming at least first and second structural configurations to respectively cause the winglet to assume first and second positional orientations relative to the aircraft wing in response to a thermal input; and   a thermal control system operatively connected to the winglet spar to provide thermal input to the winglet spar and thereby controllably move the winglet between the first and second positional orientations thereof, wherein   the winglet spar comprises:   (i) at least one thermally configurable region formed of a shape memory alloy (SMA) material, and   (ii) at least one non-thermally configurable region formed of a non-SMA material which is unitarily contiguous with the at least one thermally configurable region, wherein   (iii) the at least one thermally configurable region is capable of assuming the at least first and second structural configurations in response to the presence or absence of a thermal input from the thermal control system to thereby cause the winglet respectively to assume the at least first and second positional orientations thereof relative to the aircraft wing.   
     
     
         17 . The aircraft according to  claim 16 , wherein the at least one thermally and non-thermally configurable regions consist of sintered shape memory alloy (SMA) particles and sintered non-SMA particles, respectively. 
     
     
         18 . The aircraft according to  claim 17 , wherein the sintered SMA particles and the sintered non-SMA particles are 3D laser-sintered SMA and non-SMA particles, respectively. 
     
     
         19 . The aircraft according to  claim 17 , wherein the sintered SMA particles are comprised of Ni—Ti based alloys and/or Cu-based alloys. 
     
     
         20 . The aircraft according to  claim 17 , wherein the SMA particles are shape memory alloys selected from the group consisting of Ni—Ti, Ni—Al, Cu—Zn, Cu—Zn—Al, Cu—Zn—Sn, Cu—Zn—Si, Cu—Zn—Ga, Cu—Cu—Sn, Au—Cd, Fe—Pt, Mg—Cu, Fe—Mn—Si—Cr—Ni. 
     
     
         21 . The aircraft according to  claim 17 , wherein the sintered non-SMA particles are non-shape memory alloys selected from the group consisting of aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and titanium alloys. 
     
     
         22 . The aircraft according to  claim 17 , wherein the sintered SMA particles are formed of a shape memory Ni—Ti alloy, and wherein the sintered non-SMA particles are formed of a non-shape memory aluminum alloy. 
     
     
         23 . A method of making the thermally configurable structural element according to  claim 1 , wherein the method comprises:
 (i) additively sintering layers of the SMA particles to form the at least one thermally configurable region of the component; and   (ii) additively sintering layers of the non-SMA particles to form the at least one non-thermally configurable region of the component, wherein