Piezoelectric driven oscillating surface
AssigneeRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
InventorsTyler Van Buren, Michael Amitay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is an active roughness actuator and a method of forming an active roughness actuator. The active roughness actuator includes a surface having at least one aperture; a compliant layer disposed on the surface such that the compliant layer covers the at least one aperture; a chamber having a fluid therein and a piezoelectric surface mechanically coupled to the chamber. The chamber is in fluid communication with the compliant layer via the at least one aperture. The piezoelectric surface is configured to displace the fluid in the chamber to control production of at least one dimple in the compliant layer proximate to the at least one aperture.
Claims15
An active roughness actuator comprising:
- a surface having plurality of apertures;
- a compliant layer disposed on the surface such that the compliant layer covers the plurality of apertures;
- a chamber having a fluid therein, the chamber being in fluid communication with the compliant layer via the apertures;
- a piezoelectric surface mechanically coupled to the chamber;
- and
- a plurality of dimples in the compliant layer, each dimple located proximate to one aperture of the plurality of apertures,
- wherein the piezoelectric surface is oscillated to displace the fluid in the chamber to control the at least one dimple to oscillate at a specified frequency to control the active roughness of the actuator, and
- wherein the chamber is fluidly coupled to the plurality of apertures via a corresponding plurality of tubes, and each of the plurality of tubes have a different length selected to control a phase lag between the plurality of apertures.
An active roughness actuator system, the system comprising:
- an actuator including:
- a plurality of apertures,
- a compliant layer on the surface of the actuator such that the compliant layer covers the plurality of apertures,
- a chamber in the actuator having a fluid therein such that the chamber is in fluid communication with the compliant layer via the plurality of apertures,
- a piezoelectric surface mechanically coupled to the chamber,
- a plurality of dimples in the compliant layer, each dimple located proximate to one aperture of the plurality of apertures, and
- a plurality of tubes, each tube being fluidly coupled between the chamber and one of the plurality of apertures, and each of the plurality of tubes, having a different length selected to control a phase lag between the plurality of apertures;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- control the piezoelectric surface to oscillate to displace the fluid in the chamber to control the plurality of dimples to oscillate at a specified frequency to control the active roughness of the actuator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.