233results about "Drag reduction" patented technology

Apparatus, systems, and methods are contemplated for electric powered vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Such are craft are engineered to carry safely carry at least 500 pounds (approx. 227 kg) using a few (e.g., 2-4) rotors, generally variable speed rigid (non-articulated) rotors. It is contemplated that one or more rotors generate a significant amount of lift (e.g., 70%) during rotorborne flight (e.g., vertical takeoff, hover, etc), and tilt to provide forward propulsion during wingborne flight. The rotors preferably employ individual blade control, and are battery powered. The vehicle preferably flies in an autopilot or pilotless mode and has a relatively small (e.g., less than 45′ diameter) footprint.

Provided are computer-implemented methods for autonomously controlling an aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities and folding wings that includes controlling a plurality of thrust producing components of an aircraft to cause the aircraft to rise vertically when wings of the aircraft are in a first folded configuration, where when the wings of the aircraft are in the first folded configuration, a leading edge of each wing is oriented in a vertical direction setting motor controller gains based on the wings of the aircraft being in the first folded configuration, and causing the aircraft to align with a direction of airflow when the wings of the aircraft are in the first folded configuration, and controlling thrust producing components and control surfaces and internal articulation mechanisms of the aircraft to cause the aircraft to transition from folded wing configuration to unfolded wing configuration. Systems and computer program products are also provided.

An aircraft has a boom, a propulsion assembly coupled to a first end of the boom, and a first wing coupled to a second end of the boom. The propulsion assembly is coupled to the boom by a rotating joint. A second wing is optionally coupled to the rotating joint. The first wing is coupled to the boom by a rotating joint. The first wing is coupled to the rotating joint by a hinge. A vehicle with roll, pitch, and yaw maneuverability able to mirror the aircraft movements may be coupled to the second end of the boom. The vehicle body may be picked up with a vehicle chassis disconnected from the vehicle body. The boom houses an energy source to power the propulsion assembly. A rudder is coupled to the second end of the boom. A paddle is disposed between the propulsion assembly and the boom.

A wing designed to pass through a fluid medium is provided, the wing having a plurality of alternating protrusions and valleys along a trailing edge thereof. The described wing uses the plurality of protrusions and valleys to counteract noise that is a function of wind speed and chord length. In an alternative variant, instead of or in addition to cancelling noise, the plurality of protrusions and valleys are adapted to generate or correct noise such that the noise is generated in a desired frequency band. In this variation, the plurality of protrusions and valleys are configured such that the generated noise is in the desired frequency band based at least on a frequency band that repels various types of animals given a specified local wind speed. In another variation, the plurality of protrusions and valleys are adapted to improve the aerodynamic performance of the wings, whether in the context of separate use or with multiple wings working together within the system.

An aircraft wing is disclosed having a fixed wing with a tip, and a wing tip device rotatably mounted on a hinge at the tip of the fixed wing, such that the wing tip device is rotatable about the hinge, and an actuation system for rotating the wing tip device about the hinge. The actuation system includes a motor, at least one geared rotary actuator, a reduction gearbox, a clutch for selectively decoupling rotation of the motor from rotation of the geared rotary actuator, the geared rotary actuator is driveable by the motor and arranged to convert rotary motion into a different rotary motion and is arranged to rotate the wing tip device relative to the tip of the fixed wing. The clutch is coupled to the geared rotary actuator by a shaft and the shaft is fixed in rotation to a mass disposed radially outwardly from the shaft.

A wing assembly for an aircraft including a fixed wing and a wing tip device rotatable about a joint assembly. The wing assembly is configurable between a flight configuration for use during flight and a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations. The wing assembly includes joint-bordering structure located adjacent the joint assembly, the joint-bordering structure having a rib, an upper cover and a lower cover. The joint assembly includes a moveable panel. The panel includes a first hard stop element, and the joint-bordering structure includes a second hard stop element. The first hard stop element is integrally formed in the panel, and the second hard stop element is integrally formed in one of the rib, the upper cover or the lower cover of the joint-bordering structure. The hard stop elements may be configured to self-align.

An aircraft includes an aircraft heat source; a propulsion system including an electric propulsion engine, the electric propulsion engine including an electric motor and a fan rotatable by the electric motor, the electric propulsion engine further defining a fan air flowpath; a thermal management system including a heat source exchanger in thermal communication with the aircraft heat source, a heat sink exchanger in thermal communication with the fan air flowpath of the electric propulsion engine, and a thermal distribution bus extending from the heat source exchanger to the heat sink exchanger; and a control system operably connected to the thermal management system for selectively thermally coupling the heat sink exchanger with the heat source exchanger.

A folding wingtip aircraft includes a wing that includes a primary portion and a wingtip. The folding wingtip aircraft includes a folding wingtip system configured to rotate the wingtip relative to the primary portion. The folding wingtip aircraft also includes a flight control computer. The flight control computer is configured to, in response to a first determination that a wingtip position of the wingtip is not in a folded position when a second determination indicates that a last completed command by the folding wingtip system was a fold command, set error codes for the folding wingtip system. The flight control computer is also configured to change a setting to indicate that the folding wingtip aircraft is grounded based on the error codes.

A method for reducing aerodynamic loads on an aircraft located on the ground includes moving a wing tip relative to a fixed wing to an on-ground configuration in which the span of the wing is reduced. The wing tip includes an airflow channel, which is in an open configuration in which airflow through the channel between upper and lower surfaces of the wing tip is enabled, when the wing tip is in the on-ground configuration. This has been found to reduce aerodynamic loads on the wing tip and / or parts of the aircraft connected thereto during this phase of the aircraft's use.

A wing structure is disclosed having a first span portion including a depth that reduces in a spanwise outward direction, and a second span portion outboard of the first span portion and having a substantially uniform spanwise depth D3. The second span portion may be non-tapered, and may include parallel fore and aft spar portions. In some embodiments the non-tapered portion supports a movable wing tip device. A wing assembly and an aircraft are also disclosed.

A propulsion system for an aircraft can include an electric power source and an propulsion assembly having a propulsor. An electric power bus can electrically connect the electric power source to the propulsion assembly. The electric power source can be configured to provide electrical power to the electric power bus. An inverter converter controller can be positioned along the electric power bus and can be electrically connected to the electric power source at a location downstream of the electric power source and upstream of the electric propulsion assembly.

Airfoil venting systems are provided which include an airfoil (e.g., a winglet or an aircraft wing) having leading and trailing edges and an internal channel adapted to being fluid-connected to an on-board aircraft system which in use requires air to be exhausted. A series of venting apertures are positioned on at least a portion of the trailing edge of the airfoil and fluid-connected to the internal channel whereby air from the on-board aircraft system can be exhausted therethrough.

The application discloses a deformable wing, an aircraft and a deformation control method, and relates to the field of aircraft design.

There is provided an airfoil with a plurality of alternating projections and troughs along its trailing edge designed to traverse a fluid medium. The airfoil described uses the plurality of projections and troughs to negate noise, which is a function of wind speed and chord length. In an alternate variation, instead of, or in addition to negating noise, the plurality of projections and troughs instead are adapted to produce or modify noise such that it is generated in a desired frequency band. In this variation, the plurality of projections and troughs are structured such that the generated noise is in the desired frequency band that is based at least on a frequency band that is repulsive to various types of animals given a designated local wind speed. In another variation, the plurality of projections and troughs instead are adapted to improve the aerodynamic performance of the airfoil, either taken alone, or in the context of multiple airfoils working together within a system.

A wing assembly 10 for an aircraft, comprising a fixed wing 18 and a wing tip device 12 rotatable about a joint assembly 16. The wing assembly is configurable between a flight configuration for use during flight and a ground configuration for use during ground-based operations. The wing assembly 10 comprises joint-bordering structure located adjacent the joint assembly 16, the joint-bordering structure comprising a rib 34, an upper cover 26 and a lower cover. The joint assembly comprises a moveable panel 32. The panel 32 comprises a first hard stop element 38a, and the joint-bordering structure comprises a second hard stop element 40a. The first hard stop element 38a is integrally formed in the panel 32, and the second hard stop element 40a is integrally formed in one of the rib 34, the upper cover 26 or the lower cover of the joint-bordering structure. The hard stop elements 38a, 40a may be configured to self-align.

A panel for an active laminar flow control arrangement may comprise a longitudinal wall (434) and one or more division walls (428) extending from the longitudinal wall (434) and extending between the first end (491) and the second end (492). The panel may be coupled to a nacelle outer skin (312) via a plurality of adhesive fasteners (326, 322) preinstalled onto an inner surface (314) of the outer skin (312) and onto stiffeners (382) and / or stringers (384) associated with the outer skin (312).

The aircraft includes a fuselage (24), first and second forward wings (20, 22) attached to and / or extending from opposite sides of the fuselage (24), first and second aft wings (30, 32) and a continuous aft wing span (34) defining a fixed center connection (36), a first wing connection member (42) extending between the first forward wing (20) and the first aft wing (30), and a second wing connection member (44) extending between the second forward wing (22) and the second aft wing (32). 2), wherein an aft wing span (34) is supported by a centrally located V-tail joint defined by first and second angled arms (100, 110), and first and second electric motors each having a rotor mounted on each wing (20, 22, 30, 32), each rotor pivoting between a first configuration for vertical flight and a second configuration for forward flight.

Vortex generators include a vane that rotates between a stowed position and a deployed position. In the deployed position, the vane is configured to reduce noise created by an airflow around or along the aerodynamic surface. A spring controls deployment of the vane and includes an elongate tube formed of a superelastic shape memory alloy. To deploy or stow the vane, the elongate tube is twisted due to a stress-induced response caused by airflow around or along the aerodynamic surface, thereby building up and storing torque in the elongate tube. A mounting base receives the vane when it is in the stowed position, and operatively couples the vortex generator to the aerodynamic surface. To create the torque in the elongate tube, a first end of the elongate tube is fixed with respect to the aerodynamic surface while a second end of the elongate tube is free to rotate.

A wing structure for a supersonic aircraft including a pair of supersonic wave-tripping channels formed on each of two laterally extending wings of the supersonic aircraft, wherein each of the pair of supersonic wave-tripping channels extend in a span-wise direction of the wings respectively, wherein an upper supersonic wave-tripping channel of the pair of supersonic wave-tripping channels is disposed on an upper surface of each of the wings and a lower supersonic wave-tripping channel of the pair of supersonic wave-tripping channels is disposed on a lower surface of each of the wings, wherein the upper supersonic wave-tripping channel and the lower supersonic wave-tripping channel are set back from a leading edge of the wings respectively.

Technologies are described herein for a drag recovery scheme using a boundary layer bypass duct system. In some examples, boundary layer air is routed around the intake of one or more of the engines and reintroduced aft of the engine fan in the nozzle duct in a mixer-ejector scheme. Mixer-ejectors mix the boundary layer flow to increase mass flow.

A wing system is provided for an air vehicle, the wing system having a stowed configuration, a pre-deployed configuration, and a deployed configuration. The wing system includes two wings, each wing having aerofoil profiles and being pivotably deployable about a respective pivot axis between the pre-deployed configuration and the deployed configuration. In the stowed configuration the two wings are in first general superposed spatial relationship with respect to one another and are capable of being accommodated within an envelope having an envelope cross-sectional profile and a corresponding envelope cross-sectional area. In the pre-deployed configuration, the two wings are in second general superposed spatial relationship with respect to one another and capable of deploying to the deployed configuration. In the deployed configuration the wings are each capable of generating aerodynamic lift in an airstream. Each aerofoil profile of each wing is a slotted aerofoil having a primary element, a secondary element and a chord, the secondary element being pivotable with respect to the primary element and spaced therefrom by a gap. Each aerofoil profile has a respective maximum thickness, and a respective maximum absolute thickness. In the stowed configuration, the respective second element of each aerofoil of one wing is set at a different flap angle as compared with the respective second element of each aerofoil of the other wing.

The invention discloses a combined wing and an aircraft, and belongs to the technical field of aircrafts. Comprising a trapezoidal wing, a multi-section wing and a spiral winglet, and the trapezoidal wing, the multi-section wing and the spiral winglet are sequentially connected in the direction from a wing root to a wingtip; the multi-section wing comprises a front-end wing and a rear-end wing, a wing gap is formed between the rear edge of the front-end wing and the front edge of the rear-end wing, and the attack angle of the rear-end wing is larger than that of the front-end wing; one end of the spiral winglet is smoothly connected with the wingtip of the front-end wing, the other end of the spiral winglet is smoothly connected with the wingtip of the rear-end wing, and the geometric center of the spiral winglet is located on the axis extension line of the trapezoidal wing; the spiral winglet is smoothly mounted at the wingtip position of the multi-section wing, so that the vortex of the wingtip of the trapezoidal wing can be effectively weakened, and the induced resistance is greatly reduced.

The invention relates to a novel wingtip winglet of an aircraft. The installation angle of the winglet is a forward swept wing, and the winglet is a dihedral winglet. Compared with other winglets, the novel winglet has more excellent aerodynamic characteristics, the vortex phenomenon of the wingtip of a large wing of an aircraft can be reduced, the resistance of the aircraft is reduced, and the lift force of the aircraft is increased.

A wing tip device for fixing to the outboard end of a wing, the wing defining a wing plane, the wing tip device comprising: an upper wing-like element projecting upwardly with respect to the wing plane and having a trailing edge; and a lower wing-like element fixed with respect to the upper wing-like element and having a root chord and a trailing edge, the lower wing-like element root chord intersecting with the upper wing-like element, and the lower wing-like element projecting downwardly from the intersection, wherein the upper wing-like element is larger than the lower wing-like element and the trailing edge of the lower wing-like element is adjacent the trailing edge of the upper wing-like element at the intersection, and wherein an included angle between the upper and lower wing-like elements at the intersection is less than, or equal to, 160 degrees.

A device to reduce turbulent flow skin friction uses carbon dioxide, riblets, and suction holes to reduce the overall drag of a body moving in a fluid. A deflector (2) pushes up the boundary layer of the incoming flow on a surface (1). Carbon dioxide is injected into a plenum (3) and ejected through an exhaust slot (4). Riblets of specific dimensions (5) are placed to interact with the carbon dioxide flow that is now the sublayer viscous flow. After passing the riblets, the flow is sucked partly through suction holes (6), preventing flow separation that could increase the form and wave drag.

A vehicle, includes a main body. A fluid generator is coupled to the main body and produces a fluid stream. At least one tail conduit is fluidly coupled to the generator. First and second fore ejectors are coupled to the main body and respectively coupled to a starboard side and port side of the vehicle. The fore ejectors respectively comprise an outlet structure out of which fluid flows. At least one tail ejector is fluidly coupled to the tail conduit. The tail ejector comprises an outlet structure out of which fluid flows. A primary airfoil element includes a closed wing having a leading edge and a trailing edge. The leading and trailing edges of the closed wing define an interior region. The at least one propulsion device is at least partially disposed within the interior region.

An aircraft includes a body defining an interior compartment configured to hold at least one of a passenger and a payload, a battery system, a plurality of arms coupled to and extending from the body, and a plurality of propulsion devices configured to provide thrust to fly the aircraft. Each of the plurality of propulsion devices is coupled to a respective one of the plurality of arms. The plurality of propulsion devices are powered by the battery system. Each of the plurality of propulsion devices is selectively pivotable about at least one axis. The plurality of propulsion devices include at least one of (i) counter rotating ducted fans and (ii) ionizing electrode engines.

Vortex generators include a vane that rotates between a stowed position and a deployed position. In the deployed position, the vane is configured to reduce noise created by an airflow around or along the aerodynamic surface. A spring controls deployment of the vane and includes an elongate tube formed of a superelastic shape memory alloy. To deploy or stow the vane, the elongate tube is twisted due to a stress-induced response caused by airflow around or along the aerodynamic surface, thereby building up and storing torque in the elongate tube. A mounting base receives the vane when it is in the stowed position, and operatively couples the vortex generator to the aerodynamic surface. To create the torque in the elongate tube, a first end of the elongate tube is fixed with respect to the aerodynamic surface while a second end of the elongate tube is free to rotate.

A propulsion system coupled to a vehicle. The system includes a convex surface, a diffusing structure coupled to the convex surface, and at least one conduit coupled to the convex surface. The conduit is configured to introduce to the convex surface a primary fluid produced by the vehicle. The system further includes an intake structure coupled to the convex surface and configured to introduce to the diffusing structure a secondary fluid accessible to the vehicle. The diffusing structure comprises a terminal end configured to provide egress from the system for the introduced primary fluid and secondary fluid.

This invention relates to a wing with enhanced aerodynamic performance for flapping wings based on biomimetic leading-edge feathers, belonging to the field of aircraft design and manufacturing technology. It solves the problems of high maneuverability and difficulty in variable-attitude flight of existing flapping wings, effectively improving the leading-edge flow and enhancing flapping wing flight performance. This invention improves the evolution of the incoming boundary layer by introducing biomimetic leading-edge feathers to the leading edge of a curved wing body to form directional vortex pairs; it enhances the aerodynamic performance of flapping-wing UAVs by suppressing and / or improving boundary layer separation at high angles of attack through vortex-induced downwash and momentum transfer; the biomimetic leading-edge feathers do not change the existing wing aerodynamic shape, and the hardware design is completed by adding small-scale spoiler structures to the leading edge, resulting in a simple overall structure and easy maintenance; and through free control of the feather characteristic shape, number, and angle, it serves the aerodynamic enhancement of flapping-wing UAVs under different flight conditions and performance requirements.