Composite aircraft component with embedded piezoelectric ice protection
AssigneeGoodrich Corporation
InventorsNathaniel Ching, Sugumaran Selvaraj, Rhushikesh Patil, Jin Hu, Galdemir C. Botura, Shyam Kumar Dattatri
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Abstract
Aircraft ice protection systems and methods include an aircraft component having an internal layer and an external layer, a piezoelectric actuator element embedded within the aircraft component between material of the internal layer and the external layer, and a control system operably connected to the piezoelectric actuator element and configured to drive actuation of the piezoelectric actuator element to at least one of remove ice formed on the aircraft component and prevent the formation of ice on the aircraft component.
Claims20
An aircraft ice protection system comprising:
- an aircraft component having an internal layer and an external layer;
- a piezoelectric actuator element embedded within the aircraft component between material of the internal layer and the external layer;
- and
- a control system operably connected to the piezoelectric actuator element and configured to drive actuation of the piezoelectric actuator element to at least one of remove ice formed on the aircraft component and prevent the formation of ice on the aircraft component,
- wherein the piezoelectric actuator element comprises a hole and wherein material of the internal layer and material of the external layer are bonded together through the hole.
A method of aircraft ice protection comprising:
- embedding a piezoelectric actuator element within an aircraft component, wherein the aircraft component comprises an internal layer and an external layer and the piezoelectric actuator element is embedded between material of the internal layer and the external layer, wherein the piezoelectric actuator element comprises a hole and wherein material of the internal layer and material of the external layer are bonded together through the hole;
- detecting an ice formation condition associated with the aircraft component;
- and
- driving actuation of the piezoelectric actuator element to induce vibrations within the aircraft component.
An aircraft ice protection system comprising:
- an aircraft component having an internal layer and an external layer;
- a piezoelectric actuator element embedded within the aircraft component between material of the internal layer and the external layer;
- and
- a control system operably connected to the piezoelectric actuator element and configured to drive actuation of the piezoelectric actuator element to at least one of remove ice formed on the aircraft component and prevent the formation of ice on the aircraft component,
- wherein the piezoelectric actuator element comprises a hole and the aircraft component comprises a hole, wherein the hole of the piezoelectric actuator element and the hole of the aircraft component are aligned.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.