Plasma-enhanced active laminar flow actuator system

A plasma-enhanced active laminar flow actuator system configured to reduce aerodynamic noise due to turbulent flow from non-airfoil surfaces such as aircraft landing gear components, the system comprising:

• a set of electrodes arranged in at least an upper and a lower plane extending parallel with the surface;
• conductors arranged for electrical communication between a control unit and each of the electrodes;
• and
• a nano-engineered composite material layer of the surface comprising said set of electrodes,
• wherein:
• the control unit is adapted to address current/voltage between cooperating electrodes of the upper and lower plane from a power supply,
• an upper plane electrode of the cooperating electrodes acts as an emitter ionizing the air and a lower plane electrode of the cooperating electrodes acts as a receiver to draw the ionized air flow by means of a first electric field, thereby forming an actuator,
• the electrodes comprise nano-sized filaments or graphene,
• the conductors comprise nano-sized filaments or graphene,
• the electrodes of the upper plane are arranged in the surface such that they define a smooth aerodynamic surface,
• the nano-sized filaments or graphene of the electrodes and conductors are embedded in the nano-engineered composite material layer and
• the control unit is adapted to address current/voltage between the cooperating electrodes of the upper and lower plane from the power supply depending upon air flow characteristic signals fed from air flow sensor means.

A plasma-enhanced active laminar flow actuator system adapted to an aerodynamic surface, the system comprising:

• a set of electrodes arranged in a nano-engineered composite material layer of the aerodynamic surface, and
• conductors arranged in the a nano-engineered composite material layer for electrical communication between a control unit and each of the electrodes;
• wherein:
• the control unit is adapted to address current/voltage between cooperating electrodes from a power supply, wherein a first one of the cooperating electrodes acts as an emitter ionizing the air and a second one of the cooperating electrodes acts as a receiver to draw the ionized air flow by means of a first electric field,
• the electrodes comprise nano-sized filaments or graphene,
• the conductors comprise nano-sized filaments or graphene,
• at least some of the electrodes are arranged in the aerodynamic surface such that they define a smooth aerodynamic surface,
• the nano-sized filaments or graphene of the electrodes and conductors are embedded in the nano-engineered composite material layer, and
• the control unit is adapted to address current/voltage between the cooperating electrodes from the power supply depending upon air flow characteristic signals fed from air flow sensor means.