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US 11,975,820 B2Granted
High efficiency aircraft flow control actuators
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsArvin Shmilovich, Yoram Yadlin
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Abstract
A method, apparatus, and system for managing airflow comprising flow control actuators in an aircraft. The flow control actuators comprise channels having inlets and outlets, wherein the channels are located under a surface of the aircraft and the outlets are in communication with the surface of the aircraft. Pressurized air applied to the inlets causes steady air jets to be emitted at the outlets in which the steady air jets add a momentum to airflow over the surface on the aircraft.
Claims19
A flow control system comprising:
- flow control actuators in an aircraft, wherein the flow control actuators comprise channels having inlets and outlets, wherein the channels are located under a surface of the aircraft and the outlets are in communication with the surface of the aircraft, and wherein pressurized air applied to the inlets cause steady air jets to be emitted at the outlets in which the steady air jets add a momentum to airflow over the surface on the aircraft, wherein each channel has a tapered section connected to a divergent section, and wherein the divergent section is connected to a throat, and wherein the divergent section is located between the tapered section and the throat.
An aircraft comprising:
- a body;
- airfoils connected to the body;
- control surfaces for the airfoils;
- an air source located in the aircraft, wherein the air source operates to generate pressurized air;
- a duct system connected to the air source;
- and
- flow control actuators located in an interior under a surface of the aircraft, wherein the flow control actuators have channels without feedback channels, wherein the channels have inlets, outlets, and throats in which the inlets are connected to the duct system, the outlets are in communication with an exterior on the surface of the aircraft and positioned relative to control surfaces for the airfoils and the throats in the channels are connected to the outlets for the channels and have a smallest cross sectional area in the channels;
- and
- a controller in the aircraft, wherein the controller controls the flow of the pressurized air through the duct system into the inlets to cause the pressurized air to travel through the channels and be emitted as steady air jets at the outlets into an airflow over the surface on the aircraft during flight of the aircraft, wherein the steady air jets add a momentum to the airflow, wherein a channel in the channels has a tapered section connected to a divergent section, and wherein the divergent section is connected to a throat, and wherein the divergent section is located between the tapered section and the throat.
6 more elements
A flow control system comprising:
- flow control actuators in an aircraft, wherein the flow control actuators comprise channels having inlets and outlets, wherein the channels are located under a surface of the aircraft and the outlets are in communication with the surface of the aircraft, and wherein pressurized air applied to the inlets cause steady air jets to be emitted at the outlets in which the steady air jets add a momentum to airflow over the surface on the aircraft, wherein a channel in the channels has a tapered section connected to a divergent section, and wherein the divergent section is connected to a throat, and wherein the divergent section is located between the tapered section and the throat, and wherein the throat is located between the divergent section and an outlet of the outlets, and wherein the throat has a smallest cross-sectional area in the channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.