Methods and apparatus for accelerating an aircraft fuselage boundary layer via a fan powered by an auxiliary power unit of the aircraft

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for accelerating an aircraft fuselage boundary layer via a fan powered by an APU of the aircraft are disclosed. An example aircraft includes a fuselage, an APU, and a fan. The fuselage includes an outer skin. The APU is located within the fuselage. The fan includes a plurality of fan blades arranged circumferentially about the APU and projecting radially outward from the outer skin. The fan further includes a fan drive operatively coupled to the APU. The fan drive is configured to rotate the fan blades in response to a supply of electrical energy provided to the fan drive from the APU. The rotation of the fan blades accelerates a fuselage boundary layer traveling rearward along the outer skin from a first velocity to a second velocity greater than the first velocity.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.