US 11,174,002 B2Granted

Edge morphing arrangement for an airfoil

AssigneeFlexSys, Inc.

InventorsSridhar Kota, Gregory F. Ervin, Jia-Hsuan Lo, Kerr-Jia Lu, Dragan Maric, Mark R. Trost, Ruey-Khan K. Tsang

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Abstract

An edge-morphing arrangement for an airfoil includes a compliant upper surface and a compliant lower surface that are joined together. An actuator is coupled to a driven surface and actuated to move the driven surface and change the shape thereof, with the non-driven surface changing its shape in response to actuation of the driven surface. The upper and lower surfaces can be part of a sub-flap mounted to a traditional flap of the fixed wing of an airplane. The upper and lower surfaces can be mounted to existing structure in the flap, or the flap components can be mounted to the sub-flap. The upper and lower surfaces can alternatively replace the traditional flap in the fixed wing of an aircraft. The upper and lower surfaces are continuous and can be deflected upward, downward, or twisted in a span-wise direction relative to the flap or wing.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An edge morphing arrangement for use with an elongated airfoil of an aircraft, the arrangement comprising:

an upper surface having an inner end and an outer end and extending in a span-wise direction from the inner end to the outer end, the upper surface defining a rear edge and a front edge;
a lower surface having an inner end and an outer end and extending in a span-wise direction from the inner end to the outer end, the lower surface defining a rear edge and a front edge;
wherein the upper and lower surfaces are formed of a deformable compliant material that is load-bearing and resilient;
wherein the upper and lower surfaces are coupled via a trailing edge enclosing a fixed angle such that movement of one of the upper and lower surfaces will cause corresponding movement of the other of the upper and lower surfaces via the trailing edge;
an actuator coupled to a driven surface comprising one of the upper surface and the lower surface, the actuator being configured to move the driven surface in both a rearward and a forward direction relative to the actuator, wherein movement of the driven surface causes corresponding movement of a non-driven surface comprising the upper surface or the lower surface that is not the driven surface;
wherein rearward movement of the driven surface results in the driven surface changing shape with the rear edge thereof moving in a first direction and causing the non-driven surface to change shape;
wherein forward movement of the driven surface results in the driven surface changing shape with the rear edge thereof moving in a second direction that is opposite the first direction and causing the non-driven surface to change shape.

4 more elements

A method of integrating an edge morphing arrangement with an elongated airfoil, the method comprising the steps of:

providing an elongated airfoil having an upper control surface and a lower control surface, the upper and lower control surfaces extending in a span-wise direction between an inner end and an outer end;
providing an edge morphing arrangement to the elongated airfoil, the edge morphing arrangement comprising a compliant upper surface and a compliant lower surface that will change shape in response to actuation by an actuator, the compliant upper surface and compliant lower surface being coupled via a trailing edge enclosing a fixed angle, the actuator being coupled to a driven compliant surface comprising one of the compliant upper surface or compliant lower surface with the other of the compliant upper surface or compliant lower surface being a non-driven compliant surface, wherein in response to actuation of the actuator, the driven compliant surface will move and change shape, and the non-driven compliant surface will move and change shape via the trailing edge;
wherein the upper surface of the airfoil is aligned with the compliant upper surface of the edge morphing arrangement to define an upper interface and the lower surface of the airfoil is aligned with the compliant lower surface of the edge morphing arrangement to define a lower interface.

An edge morphing arrangement for an airfoil, the edge morphing arrangement comprising:

a compliant upper surface extending in a span-wise direction between an inner end and outer end thereof, the compliant upper surface having a generally continuous construction;
a compliant lower surface extending in a span-wise direction between an inner end and outer end thereof, the compliant lower surface having a generally continuous construction;
wherein the compliant upper surface and the compliant lower surface are connected at a connection extending in a span-wise direction between an inner end and an outer end thereof;
at least one actuator coupled to a driven compliant surface, the driven compliant surface comprising one of the compliant upper surface or the compliant lower surface, the other of the compliant upper surface or compliant lower surface being a non-driven compliant surface;
wherein the driven surface is capable of being driven rearward, being driven forward, and being driven such that a first portion of the driven surface is driven a different amount relative to a second portion to cause a rotation of the driven surface;
wherein rearward movement of the driven surface results in the driven surface changing shape with a rear edge of the driven surface moving in a first direction and causing the non-driven surface to change shape;
wherein forward movement of the driven surface results in the driven surface changing shape with the rear edge moving of the driven surface moving in a second direction that is opposite the first direction and causing the non-driven surface to change shape;
wherein rotational movement of the driven surface results in the driven surface changing shape with a first portion of the rear edge of the driven surface deflecting a first amount and a second portion of the rear edge of the driven surface deflecting a second amount that is different than the first amount, such that the rear edge of the driven surface undergoes a differential deflection or a span-wise twist.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/079,369Filed 28 Feb 2017 · us provisional application
Priority: 29 Feb 2016
Published: US 2019/0061910 A128 Feb 2019
Granted: 16 Nov 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B64C 3/48
Varying camber: by relatively-movable parts of wing structures
B64C 9/16
Forming slots: at the rear of the wing
B64C 2003/445
Varying camber: by changing shape according to the speed, e.g. by morphing
Y02T 50/10
Aeronautics or air transport: drag reduction

Family

Application62/301,143Us provisional application · filed 29 Feb 2016
US 2019/0061910 A1Pre-grant publication · published 28 Feb 2019
US 11,174,002 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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