Air intake and a method of controlling the same
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorNicholas HOWARTH
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air intake guide for a jet propulsion power plant for a supersonic aircraft comprises an intake aperture, an intake centre body and an intake adjustment device. The intake aperture has an intake lip, an intake centre body is positioned within the aperture, and an intake adjustment device is positioned on a radially inwardly facing surface of the air intake guide downstream of the intake lip. The intake adjustment device comprises a flexible panel and an actuator with the actuator being adapted to deflect the flexible panel in a radially inwardly direction so as to reduce a cross-sectional area of the intake aperture and thereby to position a shock wave at the intake lip.
Claims18
An air intake guide for a jet propulsion power plant for a supersonic aircraft, the air intake guide comprising:
- an intake aperture having an intake lip;
- and
- an intake adjustment device positioned on a radially inwardly facing surface of the air intake guide downstream of the intake lip,
- wherein the intake adjustment device comprises a flexible panel and an actuator, the actuator being adapted to deflect the flexible panel in a radially inwardly direction so as to reduce a cross-sectional area of the intake aperture.
A method of controlling the position of a shock wave generated at the intake lip of an air intake guide of an engine in a supersonic aircraft, the air intake guide comprising an intake aperture comprising an intake lip, an intake centre body positioned within the aperture and an intake adjustment device positioned on a radially inwardly facing surface of the air intake guide downstream of the intake lip, the intake adjustment device comprising a flexible panel and an actuator, the method comprising the steps of:
- sensing pressure at one or more first sensing positions distributed circumferentially around the intake lip;
- determining the position of the shock wave relative to the aperture and intake lip based on the sensed static pressure(s);
- and
- if the shock wave is not positioned at a pre-determined position relative to the intake lip, transmitting an actuation signal to the actuator to deflect the flexible panel in a radial direction relative to the aperture to thereby return the shock wave to the pre-determined position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.