Passive removal of suction air for laminar flow control, and associated systems and methods
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorPradip G. Parikh
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Passive removal of suction air for producing a laminar flow, and associated systems and methods are disclosed. One such method includes forming a laminar flow region over an external surface of an aircraft by drawing air through the external surface and into a plenum. The method can further include passively directing the air from the plenum overboard the aircraft. For example, the air can be passively directed to a region external to the aircraft having a static pressure lower than a static pressure in the plenum, as a result of the motion of the aircraft. Flows from different sections of the external surface can be combined in a common plenum, and the corresponding massflow rates can be controlled by the local porosity of the external surface.
Claims25
A method for controlling aircraft external flow, comprising:
- forming a laminar flow region over an external surface of an aircraft by drawing air through the external surface into a plenum;
- and
- passively directing the air from the plenum overboard the aircraft.
A method for controlling aircraft external flow, comprising:
- forming a laminar flow region over an external surface of an aircraft airfoil by:
- passing a flow of air over the external surface;
- drawing a first portion of the air through a first section of the external surface having a first porosity;
- drawing a second portion of the air through a second section of the external surface having a second porosity different than the first porosity;
- collecting the first and second portions of air in a common plenum;
- passively directing the air from the plenum overboard the aircraft via an exit opening, without adding energy to the air between the external surface and the exit opening;
- and
- controlling the amount of air drawn through the external surface by controlling an area of the exit opening.
An aircraft system, comprising:
- an aircraft external flow surface positioned to be exposed to an external airstream during flight, the external flow surface having multiple openings;
- a plenum positioned interior to the external flow surface and in fluid communication with the multiple openings;
- and
- a passive flow removal device in fluid communication with the plenum, the passive flow removal device having an exit opening positioned to remove air from the plenum to the external airstream, the passive flow removal device being configured to remove the air from the plenum without adding energy to the air between the openings in the external flow surface and the exit opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.