Design of a smart leading edge device for low speed wind tunnel tests in the European project SADE

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the pre-design and sizing of a smart leading edge section which is developed in the project SADE (Smart High Lift Devices for Next Generation Wings), which is part of the seventh framework program of the EU.Design methodology approach - The development of morphing technologies in SADE concentrates on the leading and trailing edge high-lift devices. At the leading edge a smart gap and step-less droop nose device is developed. For the landing flap a smart trailing edge of the flap is in the focus of the research activities. The main path in SADE follows the development of the leading edge section and the subsequent wind tunnel testing of a five meter span full-scale section with a chord length of three meters in the wind tunnel T-101 at the Russian central aero-hydrodynamic institute (TsAGI) in Moscow.Findings - The presented paper gives an overview over the desired performance and requirements of a smart leading edge device, its aerodynamic design for the wind tunnel tests and the structural pre-design and sizing of the full-scale leading edge section which will be tested in the wind tunnel.Originality value - SADE aims at a major step forward in the development and evaluation of the potential of morphing airframe technologies.