Aeroelastic wing shaping using distributed propulsion
AssigneeUnited States of America as represented by the Administrator of NASA
InventorsNhan T. Nguyen, Kevin Wayne Reynolds, Eric B. Ting
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aircraft has wings configured to twist during flight. Inboard and outboard propulsion devices, such as turbofans or other propulsors, are connected to each wing, and are spaced along the wing span. A flight controller independently controls thrust of the inboard and outboard propulsion devices to significantly change flight dynamics, including changing thrust of outboard propulsion devices to twist the wing, and to differentially apply thrust on each wing to change yaw and other aspects of the aircraft during various stages of a flight mission. One or more generators can be positioned upon the wing to provide power for propulsion devices on the same wing, and on an opposite wing.
Claims20
An aircraft, comprising:
- at least two wings, each wing configured to twist during flight along a portion of the length of the wing;
- at least one inboard propulsion engine connected to each wing, located at some distance along the wing span;
- at least one outboard propulsion engine connected to each wing, located at some distance along the wing span, the at least one outboard propulsion engine positioned closer to a wing tip of the wing to which it is connected than the at least one inboard propulsion engine;
- and
- a controller configured to independently control thrust of the at least one outboard propulsion engine and the at least one inboard propulsion engine, including controlling thrust of the at least one outboard propulsion engine to produce the twist to thereby significantly change flight dynamics of the aircraft while maintaining aeroelastic stability.
A method of changing flight dynamics during flight of an aircraft, comprising:
- providing an aircraft having:
- at least one inboard propulsion engine connected to each wing;
- at least one outboard propulsion engine connected to each wing, the at least one outboard propulsion engine positioned closer to a wing tip of the wing to which it is connected than the at least one inboard propulsion engine;
- two wings each configured to twist during flight along a portion of a length of each wing using the at least one outboard propulsion engine;
- and
- a controller configured to independently control thrust of the at least one outboard propulsion engine and the at least one inboard propulsion engine, including controlling thrust of at least the at least one outboard propulsion engine to cause the twist during flight;
- adjusting, with the controller, a thrust level of at least one of the at least one inboard propulsion engine and the at least one outboard propulsion engine to cause wing twist during flight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.