A soft aerial refueling receiver device for reducing docking impact

Abstract

The present invention discloses a soft air refueling receiver device for reducing docking impact, which includes: a receiving cone head, a docking hose, an oil pipeline and a fuel tank; the receiving cone head is inserted into the refueling cone sleeve of the receiving aircraft; the receiving cone head is connected to the oil pipeline through the docking hose; the oil pipeline is communicated with the fuel tank; a connecting rod transmission assembly is installed on the receiving cone head and the oil pipeline; the connecting rod transmission assembly is in transmission connection with a driving assembly; the driving assembly is fixedly installed on the flank of the refueling aircraft. Through the cooperative adjustment of the connecting rod transmission assembly and the driving assembly, the present invention enables the receiving cone head to produce a buffering effect at too high docking speeds, reduces the impact speed of the receiving cone head on the refueling cone tube, avoids the whip phenomenon induced by excessive relaxation of the cone tube, and at the same time, to ensure that the refueling device can be normally docked, the refueling device has a certain rigidity, and within a certain range, the refueling device ensures that the impact force can push open the valve on the refueling cone tube to achieve in-air refueling.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of aircraft refueling, in particular to a soft aerial refueling receiving device for alleviating docking impact. Background Art

[0002] Aerial refueling technology has been developed to date, and its safety and reliability have been greatly improved, but accidents still occur from time to time. Hose whipping is one of the main causes of aerial refueling failures. During the docking and oil transfer phase of aerial refueling, the high-speed docking of the receiving aircraft causes the hose to loosen, which may cause hose whipping, greatly limiting the success rate and safety of aerial refueling missions.

[0003] The present invention solves the whipping phenomenon generated during aerial refueling docking and provides a refueling device design that does not cause the refueling cone to loosen at an excessively fast docking speed, thereby achieving safe docking for aerial refueling. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a soft aerial refueling receiving device that can mitigate docking impact, so as to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides the following scheme: The present invention provides a soft aerial refueling receiving device for alleviating docking impact, comprising: a refueling cone head, a docking hose, an oil pipeline and a fuel tank; the refueling cone head is inserted into a refueling cone sleeve of a refueling aircraft; the refueling cone head is connected to the oil pipeline through the docking hose; the oil pipeline is connected to the fuel tank; a connecting rod transmission assembly is installed on the refueling cone head and the oil pipeline; the connecting rod transmission assembly is in transmission connection with a driving assembly; the driving assembly is fixedly installed on the side wing of the refueling aircraft.

[0006] The connecting rod transmission assembly includes a first connecting rod; one end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the driving assembly; the other end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected to one end of the second connecting rod; the middle part of the second connecting rod is also rotatably connected to one end of the third connecting rod; the other end of the second connecting rod is mounted on the refueling cone head; the other end of the third connecting rod is mounted on one end of the oil pipeline; the first connecting rod is also rotatably connected to a fixed support; the fixed support is fixedly connected to the fuselage of the refueling aircraft.

[0007] The oil receiving cone head and the end of the oil delivery pipe close to the docking hose are respectively fixedly sleeved with a second oil delivery pipe sleeve and a first oil delivery pipe sleeve; the second connecting rod is fixedly installed on the second oil delivery pipe sleeve; the third connecting rod is fixedly installed on the first oil delivery pipe sleeve;

[0008] One end of the oil delivery pipe away from the docking hose is a spherical structure. The oil delivery pipe is rotatably mounted on a spherical support and can rotate relative to the spherical fitting surface.

[0009] The fuel receiving conical head is always parallel to the line connecting the fixed support and the spherical support; the first connecting rod is always parallel to the fuel pipeline.

[0010] The driving assembly includes a mounting seat; a friction cylinder is rotatably mounted on the mounting seat; the piston end of the friction cylinder is rotatably connected to one end of the first connecting rod through a rotating shaft.

[0011] The docking hose is a corrugated pipe.

[0012] The present invention discloses the following technical effects: through the cooperative adjustment of the connecting rod transmission assembly and the driving assembly, the fuel receiving conical head generates a buffering effect at too high docking speeds, reducing the impact speed of the fuel receiving conical head on the fuel filling conical pipe, avoiding excessive relaxation of the conical pipe and thus inducing whipping. At the same time, to ensure that the fuel receiving device can perform normal docking, the fuel receiving device has a certain stiffness, and within a certain range, the fuel receiving device ensures that the impact force can push open the valve on the fuel filling conical pipe to achieve in-air refueling. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative effort, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure;

[0015] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of another state structure of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of in-air refueling of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the multi-body dynamics model of the in-air refueling system of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 5 It is a configuration diagram of the fuel filling conical pipe node when refueling with a non-buffered fuel receiving conical head;

[0019] Figure 6 It is a configuration diagram of the fuel filling conical pipe node when refueling with a buffered fuel receiving conical head using this structure;

[0020] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the shear force change of the fuel receiving plug with and without a buffer hose.

[0021] Among them, 1. oil receiving cone head; 2. second oil pipe sleeve; 3. docking hose; 4. first oil pipe sleeve; 5. fixed support; 6. piston rod; 7. friction cylinder; 8. mounting seat; 9. oil pipe; 10. first connecting rod; 11. spherical support; 12. second connecting rod; 13. third connecting rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0024] The present invention provides a soft aerial refueling receiving device for alleviating docking impact, comprising: a refueling cone head 1, a docking hose 3, an oil pipeline 9 and a fuel tank; the refueling cone head 1 is inserted into a refueling cone sleeve of a refueling aircraft; the refueling cone head 1 is connected to the oil pipeline 9 through the docking hose 3; the oil pipeline 9 is connected to the fuel tank; a connecting rod transmission assembly is installed on the refueling cone head 1 and the oil pipeline 9; the connecting rod transmission assembly is in transmission connection with a driving assembly; and the driving assembly is fixedly installed on a wing of a refueling machine.

[0025] The connecting rod transmission assembly includes a first connecting rod 10; one end of the first connecting rod 10 is rotatably connected to the driving assembly; the other end of the first connecting rod 10 is rotatably connected to one end of the second connecting rod 12; the middle of the second connecting rod 12 is also connected to one end of the third connecting rod 13; the other end of the second connecting rod 12 is installed on the oil receiving cone head 1; the other end of the third connecting rod 13 is installed at one end of the oil pipeline 9; the first connecting rod 10 is also rotatably connected to a fixed support 5, and the fixed support 5 is fixedly connected to the fuselage of the oil receiving aircraft.

[0026] The oil receiving cone 1 and the end of the oil delivery pipe 9 close to the docking hose 3 are respectively fixedly sleeved with a second oil delivery pipe sleeve 2 and a first oil delivery pipe sleeve 4; the second connecting rod 12 is fixedly installed on the second oil delivery pipe sleeve 2; the third connecting rod 13 is fixedly installed on the first oil delivery pipe sleeve 4;

[0027] One end of the oil delivery pipe 9 away from the docking hose 3 is a spherical structure. The oil delivery pipe 9 is rotatably mounted on the spherical support 11 and can rotate relative to the spherical fitting surface.

[0028] The oil receiving cone head 1 is always parallel to the connecting line of the fixed support 5 and the spherical support 11; the first connecting rod 10 is always parallel to the oil delivery pipe 9.

[0029] The drive assembly includes a mounting base 8; a friction cylinder 7 is rotatably mounted on the mounting base 8; one end of a piston rod 6 of the friction cylinder 7 is rotatably connected to one end of a first connecting rod 10 through a rotating shaft.

[0030] The docking hose 3 is a corrugated pipe.

[0031] Furthermore, in the prior art, traditional fixed and retractable fuel receiving devices are rigidly installed on the fuel receiving aircraft. When the fuel receiving aircraft docks at a relatively high speed, the refueling cone tube will quickly become slack under the impact, and the slack hose will whip under the influence of the airflow, affecting flight safety.

[0032] In an embodiment of the present invention, under normal docking loads, the drive assembly provides a certain stiffness for the fuel receiving cone head without slipping itself, ensuring that the impact force can push open the valve on the refueling cone tube to achieve in-air refueling; while under the impact load brought by a relatively high docking speed, the drive assembly generates sliding friction to move the fuel receiving cone head backward, avoiding applying the impact force of high-speed collision to the cone sleeve, thereby preventing excessive slack of the hose.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, the impact force during docking is transmitted to the piston rod 6 through a connecting rod transmission assembly. When the impact force is greater than the static friction force generated by the friction piston rod 6, the piston rod 6 moves within the friction cylinder 7 to make the fuel receiving cone head 1 "soften". At the same time, through the design of the placement position of the friction cylinder 7, it is ensured that when the fuel receiving cone head 1 rotates to any position, the force applied to the piston rod 6 is the same, preventing the buffer effect from changing due to different angles of the connecting rod transmission assembly.

[0034] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of in-air refueling and fuel receiving is given. A rectangular coordinate system xOy is defined, with x pointing in the oncoming flow direction. The friction cylinder AB and the connecting rod AC are respectively hinged to the fuselage at points B and O. At a certain moment, the connecting rod rotates from the initial position to the A'C' position. The angle between the connecting rod and the x direction is defined as δ1, and the angle between the connecting rod and the friction cylinder is defined as δ2. When the friction cylinder generates the maximum friction force f max , the resistance force that can be generated by the fuel receiving device at this time is:

[0035]

[0036] In the formula, l and L are the lengths of AO and OC respectively,

[0037] δ2 satisfies the relationship:

[0038] δ2 = δ1 + δ3

[0039] In the formula, δ3 is the angle between the friction cylinder and the direction, and its magnitude is determined by geometric relationships:

[0040]

[0041] Where: d1 and d2 are the horizontal and vertical projection distances between the hinge point B of the friction cylinder and the coordinate origin O, respectively.

[0042] If the external force F applied to the fuel receiving cone head during the docking process is greater than F m , the fuel receiving device will slip, the fuel receiving cone head will move backward with the connecting rod, and δ1 will gradually increase to the maximum buffer position. From the above analysis, it can be seen that the magnitude of F m gradually changes with the change of δ1. Selecting an appropriate d1 parameter can reduce the change range. Here, d1 = lsinδ0, where δ0 is the magnitude of δ1 when the connecting rod is in the initial position.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present invention, as Figure 2 shown, the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue are described using rigid body elements; the refueling hose is modeled using absolute nodal coordinate (ANCF) beam elements based on the arbitrary Euler-Lagrange description (ALE). This method can reflect the large deformation, large range of motion, and variable length characteristics of the refueling pipeline. The entire hose is divided into N elements with a total of N + 1 nodes. The first N - 1 elements are Lagrangian elements, and the last element is an ALE element.

[0044] Each part of the air refueling system is coupled through constraint equations. Among them, one end of the refueling hose of the fuel tanker is connected by a ball joint, the drogue is fixedly connected to the other end of the refueling hose, and the buffer between the fuel receiving cone head and the drogue is modeled by a translational pair and applying a binding force. The dynamic equation of the air refueling system is:

[0045]

[0046] Where: r t , r r , r d are the centroid coordinates of the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue, respectively; λ t , λ r , λ d are the Euler quaternions of the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue, respectively; m t , m r , m d are the mass matrices of the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue, respectively; J t , J r , J d are the inertia matrices of the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue, respectively; F t , F r , F d are the external forces acting on the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue, respectively; M t , M r , M d are the external torques acting on the fuel tanker, the receiver aircraft, and the drogue, respectively; Mele is the mass matrix of the hose unit, q ele is the generalized coordinate vector of the hose unit, Q ele is the generalized force of the hose unit, C k represents the overall constraint equation vector of the system, n c is the number of system constraint equations, σ k represents the overall Lagrange multiplier vector of the system, G t 、G r 、G d is a matrix composed of quaternions, expressed as:

[0047]

[0048] The external force F of the fuel dispenser t includes the gravity m of the fuel dispenser t g (g is the acceleration due to gravity) and aerodynamic forces. The three-dimensional components of the aerodynamic forces and aerodynamic moments of the fuel dispenser in the global coordinate system are expressed as:

[0049]

[0050]

[0051] Among them: are the pitch angular velocity, roll angular velocity, and yaw angular velocity of the fuel dispenser respectively, is the elevator deflection angle of the fuel dispenser, q t is the dynamic pressure at the fuel dispenser, S t is the characteristic area of the fuel dispenser, V is the oncoming flow velocity, b t is the wingspan of the fuel dispenser, c t is the mean aerodynamic chord of the fuel dispenser, are the lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and side force coefficient of the fuel dispenser respectively, are the roll moment coefficient, pitch moment coefficient, and yaw moment coefficient of the fuel dispenser respectively, are the lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and pitch moment coefficient at zero angle of attack of the fuel dispenser respectively. The superscript t in these coefficients represents the fuel dispenser. Similarly, the expressions for the aerodynamic forces and aerodynamic moments of the receiver are obtained:

[0052]

[0053]

[0054] Among them: are the pitch angular velocity, roll angular velocity, and yaw angular velocity of the receiver respectively, is the elevator deflection angle of the receiver, q r is the dynamic pressure at the receiver, S ris the characteristic area of the receiver aircraft, b r is the wingspan of the receiver aircraft, c r is the mean aerodynamic chord of the receiver aircraft.

[0055] The resultant external force F on the drogue d includes the gravity m of the drogue d g and the aerodynamic drag. The aerodynamic drag D of the drogue d has the following expression:

[0056]

[0057] where: q d represents the dynamic pressure of the oncoming flow at the drogue, α d represents the angle of attack of the drogue, β d represents the sideslip angle of the drogue, is the aerodynamic coefficient matrix at zero angle of attack of the drogue, is the derivative matrix of the aerodynamic coefficients of the drogue with respect to the angle of attack, is the derivative matrix of the aerodynamic coefficients of the drogue with respect to the sideslip angle.

[0058] The aerodynamic forces on the refueling hose include the form drag and the pressure drag. The expression for the surface friction force on the K-th section of the hose is:

[0059]

[0060] where ρ is the air density, v t,K =(v K +V)·n K is the tangential component of the velocity of the K-th section of the hose relative to the oncoming flow along the hose, v K is the velocity vector of the K-th section of the hose relative to the origin of the global coordinate system, n K is the tangential unit vector of the K-th section of the hose; d K is the diameter of the refueling hose, l K is the length of the K-th section of the hose, C t,K is the tangential aerodynamic drag coefficient of the K-th section of the hose.

[0061] The expression for the pressure drag of the K-th section of the hose is:

[0062]

[0063] where, v n,K =v K +V-v t,K is the normal component of the velocity of the K-th section of the hose relative to the oncoming flow along the hose, C n,K is the normal aerodynamic drag coefficient of the K-th section of the hose.

[0064] The aerodynamic model is introduced into the multibody dynamics framework through program development. Therefore, the established dynamic model of the tanker-refueling hose-drogue-receiver system can reflect the coupling effects of the movements of the tanker and receiver, the deformation of the drogue and refueling pipeline, and aerodynamic forces.

[0065] Furthermore, the docking processes in two cases with and without the buffer device for the refueling plug are analyzed respectively. Figure 5 and Figure 6 The comparison of the hose configuration changes with and without the buffer device for the refueling plug at a Mach number of 0.5 and a docking speed of 20 m / s is given. The analysis results show that with the buffer, the hose configuration change after docking is small, while without the buffer, the hose quickly exhibits the phenomenon of hose whipping.

[0066] Furthermore, from Figure 7 it can be seen that the present invention effectively suppresses the hose whipping phenomenon. The maximum shear force of the hose near the drogue is reduced by 83.4% compared with the case without the buffer device for the refueling plug. Using this device can safely complete the docking operation at a relatively high docking speed. At the same time, the relatively high docking speed also reduces the influence brought by the bow wave effect, reduces the docking difficulty to a certain extent, and improves the fault tolerance rate of in-air refueling docking.

[0067] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationships indicated by the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0068] The above-described embodiments are only descriptions of the preferred modes of the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit of the present invention, various deformations and improvements made by those of ordinary skill in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A soft air refueling receiver device for reducing docking impact, characterized in that The invention comprises: a refueling cone head (1), a docking hose (3), an oil delivery pipe (9) and a fuel tank; the refueling cone head (1) is inserted into a refueling cone sleeve of a refueling aircraft; the refueling cone head (1) is connected to the oil delivery pipe (9) through the docking hose (3); the oil delivery pipe (9) is connected to the fuel tank; a connecting rod transmission assembly is installed on the refueling cone head (1) and the oil delivery pipe (9); the connecting rod transmission assembly is in transmission connection with a driving assembly; the driving assembly is fixedly installed on the side wing of the refueling machine; The connecting rod transmission assembly comprises a first connecting rod (10); one end of the first connecting rod (10) is rotatably connected to the driving assembly; the other end of the first connecting rod (10) is rotatably connected to one end of a second connecting rod (12); the middle of the second connecting rod (12) is also rotatably connected to one end of a third connecting rod (13); the other end of the second connecting rod (12) is mounted on the refueling cone head (1); the other end of the third connecting rod (13) is mounted on one end of the oil delivery pipe (9); the first connecting rod (10) is also rotatably connected to a fixed support (5), and the fixed support (5) is fixedly connected to the fuselage of the refueling aircraft; The oil receiving cone head (1) is always parallel to the line connecting the fixed support (5) and the spherical support (11); the first connecting rod (10) is always parallel to the oil delivery pipe (9); The driving assembly comprises a mounting seat (8); a friction cylinder (7) is rotatably mounted on the mounting seat (8); a piston rod (6) of the friction cylinder (7) is rotatably connected to one end of the first connecting rod (10) via a rotating shaft.

2. The soft air refueling receiver device for reducing docking impact according to claim 1, wherein: The oil receiving cone head (1) and the oil delivery pipe (9) are respectively fixedly sleeved with a second oil delivery pipe sleeve (2) and a first oil delivery pipe sleeve (4) at one end close to the docking hose (3); the second connecting rod (12) is fixedly mounted on the second oil delivery pipe sleeve (2); and the third connecting rod (13) is fixedly mounted on the first oil delivery pipe sleeve (4); One end of the oil delivery pipe (9) away from the docking hose (3) is a spherical structure. The oil delivery pipe (9) is rotatably mounted on a spherical support (11) and can rotate relative to the spherical fitting surface.

3. The soft air refueling receiver device for reducing docking impact according to claim 1, characterized in that: The docking hose (3) is a corrugated tube.

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