Active vortex control system (AVOCS) and method for isolation of sensitive components from external environments
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsJose E. Chirivella, Anton VanderWyst
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An active vortex control system (AVOCS) includes a set of primary injectors that inject gas into a cavity to generate a vortex in front of and possibly around components inside the cavity. The vortex interferes with an external flow field in an opening to the cavity to protect the components from the external environment. Sets of secondary injectors may inject gas at a reduced mass flow into the cavity to compensate for energy losses to maintain the coherence of the vortex. The AVOCS is well suited for use in windowless endo- and exo-atmospheric interceptors to protect the electro-optical imagers and optical components from Earth atmosphere.
Claims18
An active vortex control system (AVOCS) to protect components from an external environment, comprising:
- a protective cover, said cover defining a cavity having an opening to the external environment;
- one or more components inside the cavity;
- and
- a gas canister and one or more injectors configured to inject gas into the cavity with tangential and inward radial velocity components to generate a coherent vortex in front of the one or more components and an axial velocity component that causes the vortex to advance towards the opening to interfere with an external flow field in the opening;
- further comprising a mass flow controller configured to inject gas at a mass flow rate such that said vortex produces a cavity pressure approximately equal to or greater than the free stream Pitot pressure of the external flow field, a linear momentum approximately equal to or greater than the momentum of the external flow field and an angular momentum to maintain coherence of the vortex.
An active vortex control system (AVOCS) to protect components residing inside a cavity defined by a protective cover from an external environment, said cover having an opening from the cavity to the external environment, said AVOCS comprising:
- a gas canister;
- and
- a plurality of injectors spaced around an inner periphery of the protective cover that each inject gas with both tangential and inward radial velocity components to generate a coherent vortex in front of the one or more components and an axial velocity component that causes the vortex to advance towards the opening to interfere with an external flow field in the opening;
- further comprising a mass flow controller configured to inject gas at a mass flow rate such that said vortex produces a cavity pressure approximately equal to or greater than the free stream Pitot pressure of the external flow field, a linear momentum approximately equal to or greater than the momentum of the external flow field and an angular momentum to maintain coherence of the vortex.
A method of protecting components residing, inside a cavity defined by a protective cover from an external environment, said cover having an opening from the cavity to the external environment, comprising:
- injecting gas into the cavity with tangential and inward radial velocity components to generate as coherent vortex in front of the one or more components and an axial velocity component that causes the vortex to advance towards the opening to interfere with an external flow field in the opening;
- wherein the step of injecting gas into the cavity comprises injecting gas at a mass flow rate such that said vortex produces a cavity pressure approximately equal to or greater than the free stream Pitot pressure of the external flow field, a linear momentum approximately equal to or greater than the momentum of the external flow field and an angular momentum to maintain coherence of the vortex.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.