Ducted electroaerodynamic thrusters
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsSteven Barrett, Haofeng Xu, Arthur Brown, Nicolas Gomez Vega
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Abstract
Electroaerodynamic devices and their methods of operation are disclosed. In one embodiment, ions are formed by dielectric barrier discharge using a time-varying voltage differential applied between a first electrode and a second electrode. The ions are then accelerated in a downstream direction using a second voltage differential applied between a third electrode and the first and/or second electrodes, where the third electrode is located downstream from the first and second electrodes. The ions may then collide with naturally charged molecules and/or atoms within a fluid to accelerate the fluid in the downstream to create an ionic wind and an associated thrust.
Claims20
An electroaerodynamic device comprising:
- a duct including an inlet and an outlet;
- and
- a plurality of serially arranged electroaerodynamic stages disposed in the duct along at least a portion of a length of the electroaerodynamic device, wherein each stage of the plurality of serially arranged electroaerodynamic stages includes a plurality of ion sources and a plurality of ion collectors distributed across at least a portion of a height of the electroaerodynamic device.
An electroaerodynamic device comprising:
- a duct including an inlet and an outlet;
- and
- an electroaerodynamic stage disposed in the duct along at least a portion of a length of the duct, wherein the electroaerodynamic stage includes a plurality of ion sources and a plurality of ion collectors, and wherein the electroaerodynamic stage includes at least one ion source of the plurality of ion sources extending across a width of the duct and at least one ion collector of the plurality of ion collectors extending across the width of the duct.
An aircraft comprising:
- at least one electroaerodynamic device comprising:
- a duct configured to function as a lifting surface;
- and
- a plurality of serially arranged electroaerodynamic stages disposed in the duct along at least a portion of a length of the duct, wherein each electroaerodynamic stage of the plurality of serially arranged electroaerodynamic stages includes at least one ion source and at least one ion collector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.