Adjustable area bleed air scoop and ventilation cooling system

Abstract

The adjustable-area bleed air scoop is used for introducing cooling gas, and is arranged on an air inlet channel. The adjustable-area bleed air scoop comprises a bleed air inlet, a bleed air outlet and a guide plate. The guide plate encloses an air inlet channel. The air inlet channel is connected with the bleed air inlet and the bleed air outlet respectively. At least part of the guide plate is made of an electroactive material. The electroactive material can be deformed when receiving different electric signals, so as to change the cross-sectional area of the air inlet channel enclosed by the guide plate. The adjustable-area bleed air scoop can change the air inlet cross-sectional area of the air inlet channel, and realize flexible adjustment of air inlet. A ventilation cooling system is also provided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of nacelles for aeroengines, in particular to the field of ventilation cooling design for aeroengines. BACKGROUND

[0002] The main functions of the nacelle for a turbofan aeroengine are to secure the engine to the aircraft, to optimize the aerodynamic flow field of the engine and to protect the engine from external damage.

[0003] The nacelle is mainly composed of an inlet duct, a fan case, a thrust reverser, an exhaust nozzle, a mounting system and the like. The inlet duct is a thin-walled part in the engine, which is used to provide an engine air inlet passage. The cavity formed by the fan case and the engine case is a fan chamber, in which the engine electronic controller, anti-icing pipeline, fuel pump, oil tank, transmission gear box and other important engine accessories are installed. When the engine is working, a large amount of heat is generated by the engine accessories and diffused into the fan chamber. If the heat cannot be dissipated in time, the temperature in the chamber will continue to rise, which will cause the engine accessories to fail to work normally, the fan case structure to fail, and even cause a fire.

[0004] The ventilation cooling system is an important guarantee for the normal operation of the engine. The main function of the fan chamber ventilation cooling system is to maintain the temperature in the engine chamber, to ensure that the engine external accessories, the fan chamber structure and the engine case are within the temperature limit range, so as to prevent the accumulation of flammable gas, reduce the risk of fire, and avoid the overpressure in the chamber causing structural failure. The current technical solution of the fan chamber ventilation cooling system of the aeroengine is to directly introduce cooling air into the cavity to be cooled from the outside environment through the air induction scoop, and to reduce the temperature in the cavity by the flow of cooling air.

[0005] However, the heat generated by the engine accessories is different under different working conditions of the engine, and the temperature in the fan chamber is also different. The air induction port of the air induction scoop of the common ventilation cooling system is fixed and cannot be adjusted. In order to meet the design requirements of ventilation cooling, the common technical solution is to use the most severe working condition for conservative design, that is, the working temperature of the engine accessories in the fan chamber under the most severe working condition is not higher than the limit temperature range. The opening area of the air induction port of the air induction scoop designed based on this requirement is usually large, which causes great loss to the smoothness of the outer surface of the engine nacelle, resulting in the decrease of the aerodynamic performance of the nacelle.

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an adjustable area air induction scoop to solve the above problems. SUMMARY

[0007] An object of the present application is to provide an adjustable area air induction scoop, which can realize timely adjustment of the cross-sectional area of the air induction port and real-time meet the design requirements of ventilation cooling.

[0008] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the adjustable-area air-bleed scoop for introducing cooling gas is arranged on the air inlet channel and comprises an air-bleed port, an air-outlet port and a guide plate, the guide plate encloses an air inlet channel, the air inlet channel is connected with the air-bleed port and the air-outlet port respectively, at least part of the guide plate is made of electroactive material, the electroactive material can be deformed when receiving different electric signals to change the cross-sectional area of the air inlet channel enclosed by the guide plate.

[0009] In one or more embodiments, the guide plate comprises an upper guide plate, a lower guide plate and a side guide plate, the side guide plate connects the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate, part of the side guide plate is made of electroactive material, the upper guide plate is movably arranged, and the lower guide plate is fixedly arranged to prevent deformation of part of the side guide plate towards the lower guide plate.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, the adjustable-area air-bleed scoop further comprises an outer moving plate, the outer moving plate is arranged on the plane where the air-bleed port is located and is integrally connected with the upper guide plate, and can move by virtue of the deformation of the side guide plate.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the air inlet port is fixed on the outer circumferential surface of the air inlet channel through a second flange edge, the air-outlet port is fixed on the axial side wall surface of the air inlet channel through a first flange edge, and the lower guide plate is fixedly connected with the first flange edge and the second flange edge.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, part of the side guide plate between the second flange edge and the lower guide plate is made of non-electroactive material.

[0013] Another object of the present application is to provide a ventilation and cooling system for the ventilation and cooling of a nacelle, which comprises the adjustable-area air-bleed scoop, at least one temperature sensor and a control center, the at least one temperature sensor is arranged inside the air inlet channel, the control center is used to receive temperature data from the temperature sensor, and send electric signals to part of the guide plate after threshold judgment on the temperature data, so that the electroactive material of the part of the guide plate is deformed.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, the control center is electrically connected with part of the guide plate through a signal output line.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, the system comprises a plurality of temperature sensors arranged at different positions inside the air inlet channel.

[0016] The adjustable-area bleed air scoop realizes the change of the cross-sectional area of the air inlet channel through the deformation of the guide plate with partial electroactive material, can adjust the bleed air amount under different working conditions of the engine, can improve the smoothness of the engine nacelle outer shape as much as possible while meeting the ventilation cooling requirements, and thus reduces the loss of aerodynamic performance.

[0017] The ventilation cooling system realizes the accurate control of the temperature in the fan cabin through the temperature sensor, determines the deformation of the electroactive side guide plate through the control center judgment and cooperation, changes the area of the air inlet, adjusts the cooling gas flow according to the ambient temperature in time, and realizes the self-adaptive adjustment of the bleed air amount. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] The above and other features, properties, and advantages of the present application will become more apparent by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a nacelle ventilation cooling system.

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic view of the installation position of the bleed air scoop.

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the adjustable-area bleed air scoop.

[0022] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment of the adjustable-area bleed air scoop.

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic view of a ventilation cooling system.

[0024] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025] 10 inlet channel

[0026] 11 bleed air scoop

[0027] 12 air inlet

[0028] 13 fan cover

[0029] 14 fan cabin

[0030] 15 rear bulkhead

[0031] 16 air inlet outer wall plate

[0032] 17 lower guide plate

[0033] 19 upper guide plate

[0034] 20 outer moving plate

[0035] 24 side guide plate

[0036] 25 signal output line

[0037] 27 first temperature sensor

[0038] 28 second temperature sensor

[0039] 29 third temperature sensor

[0040] 30 fourth temperature sensor

[0041] 31 control center

[0042] 33 temperature sensor

[0043] 112 air outlet

[0044] 113 air inlet

[0045] 114 deflector

[0046] 115 air inlet channel

[0047] 241 non-electroactive side deflector

[0048] 242 electroactive side deflector

[0049] 181 first flange

[0050] 182 second flange DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The application will be further described with reference to the drawings, in which specific embodiments of the application are shown. The following description is more fully understood with reference to the drawings in conjunction with the following description, in which more detailed description of the application will be set forth in order to fully convey the scope of the application to those who are skilled in this art. This detailed description is indeed not intended to limit the scope of the application, but rather it is intended to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make, use, and practice the application, as claimed, without unduly restricting the overall scope of the application. It is to be noted that these and other attached drawings are merely intended to be exemplary, and are not drawn to scale, and should not be used to construe the actual scope of the application as claimed.

[0052] Also, the use of "one embodiment", "an embodiment", or "some embodiments" throughout this specification is not necessarily a reference to the same embodiment or embodiments. Furthermore, several embodiments have been presented in this specification by way of example only and do not necessarily represent the full scope of the application. Any feature or combination of features described herein are intended to be within the scope of the application, provided that the method, composition or device does not (and exclude that it does): inherently and inevitably achieve the stated objective, or does not (and exclude that it does): inherently and inevitably cause a technical effect that is essential to the stated technical purpose.

[0053] The bleed air scoop according to the present disclosure is used in the nacelle ventilation cooling system of an aero-engine.

[0054] Referring to Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the inlet passage 10 is a thin-walled structure for providing an engine inlet passage, and the fan case 13 is a structure installed outside the fan case to protect engine accessories installed on the fan case. The cavity formed by the fan case 13 and the engine case is the fan compartment 14, and various engine components are installed in the fan compartment 14, so that the temperature in the fan compartment 14 rises, and the bleed air scoop 11 on the inlet passage 12 needs to introduce cooling air.

[0055] Continuing to refer to Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the inlet passage 12 surrounds the inlet passage 10, and the inlet passage 12 includes an outer peripheral surface 121 and an axial side wall surface 122. The bleed air scoop 11 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface 121 of the inlet passage 12 and introduces external air flow of the inlet passage 12 into the inlet passage 10.

[0056] Since the opening area of the bleed air port 113 of the conventional ventilation cooling bleed air scoop 11 cannot be adjusted, in order to meet the design requirements of ventilation cooling, a conservative design is adopted under the most severe working condition. Based on such design requirements, the opening area of the bleed air scoop is usually relatively large, which causes a great loss to the smoothness of the outer surface of the engine nacelle, resulting in a decrease in the aerodynamic performance of the nacelle.

[0057] The adjustable-area bleed air scoop 111 according to the present disclosure can adaptively adjust the amount of bleed air according to different working conditions of the engine, while meeting the ventilation cooling requirements and as far as possible improving the smoothness of the outer surface of the engine nacelle, thereby reducing the loss of aerodynamic performance.

[0058] Continuing to combine Figure 2 and Figure 3 It is understood that the adjustable-area bleed air scoop 111 for introducing cooling air includes a bleed air port 113, an air outlet 112, and a flow guide plate 114. The flow guide plate 114 surrounds an air inlet passage 115, and the air inlet passage 115 is connected with the bleed air port 113 and the air outlet 112, respectively. The cooling air enters the air inlet passage 115 in the radial direction from the bleed air port 113, is guided by the air inlet passage 115, and then flows out axially from the air outlet 112.

[0059] In one embodiment, the bleed air port 113 of the adjustable-area bleed air scoop 111 is fixed on the outer peripheral surface 121 of the inlet passage 12 through a second flange edge 182, the air outlet 112 is fixed on the rear bulkhead 15 on the axial side wall surface 122 of the inlet passage 12 through a first flange edge 181, and the lower flow guide plate 17 is fixedly connected with the first flange edge 181 and the second flange edge 182.

[0060] At least a portion of the guide plate 114 is made of an electroactive material. The electroactive material can deform when it receives different electrical signals, thereby changing the cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake channel 115 enclosed by the guide plate 114.

[0061] Electro-active polymers (EAPs) are materials that undergo significant changes in size and shape under the influence of current, voltage, or electric and magnetic fields, enabling the conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy. For example, an electro-active polymer expands when it receives an electrical signal and contracts when the signal is lost. By utilizing the deformation characteristics of electro-active polymers under different electrical signal states, the cross-sectional area of ​​the intake channel 115 can be altered by using a portion of the guide plate 114 as an electro-active polymer, thereby regulating the intake volume. Specifically, electro-active polymers can be selected from materials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and ionomer-polymer metal composites (IPMCs).

[0062] For example, ion-polymer metal composites (IPMCs) are electroactive materials formed by depositing noble metal electrodes (such as Pt, Au, Ag, etc.) on the surface of an ion-polymer thin film. Furthermore, ion-polymer metal composites are lightweight, have low driving voltage, and fast response speed, making them suitable for engine structures.

[0063] When a voltage is applied to the upper and lower surfaces of the ion-polymer metal composite material, the composite material can expand towards the cathode, exhibiting characteristics such as an increase in expansion amplitude with increasing applied voltage, or a decrease in deformation amplitude with increasing applied electric field frequency. Therefore, using the ion-polymer metal composite material as a component of part of the guide plate 114 allows for deformation of this portion of the guide plate 114 under applied voltage, thereby changing the air intake cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake channel 115 enclosed by the guide plate 114, and thus flexibly adjusting the air intake volume.

[0064] In one embodiment, refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the deflector 114 includes an upper deflector 19, a lower deflector 17, and a side deflector 24. The side deflector 24 connects the upper deflector 19 and the lower deflector 17, and a portion of the side deflector 24 is made of an electroactive material. The upper deflector 19 is movably disposed, while the lower deflector 17 is fixedly disposed to prevent deformation of the side deflector 24 toward the lower deflector 17.

[0065] Combination Figure 4It is understood that the part of the side deflector 24 located on the ZX plane is provided with the electroactive material, which forms the electroactive side deflector 242. When energized, the electroactive side deflector 242 will expand, but since the bottom deflector 17 is fixedly connected to the first flange edge 181 and the second flange edge 182 in a manner such as welding, the deflector 17 cannot move, and the deflector 17 is preferably a rigid material, thus blocking the expansion of the electroactive side deflector 242 towards the deflector 17, and causing the electroactive side deflector 242 to expand along the direction of the arrow A outwardly. Figure 4 The electroactive side deflector 242 expands along the direction of the arrow A outwardly, and drives the upper deflector 19 to move along the direction of the arrow A outwardly, thereby increasing the cross-sectional area of the air inlet passage 115 to increase the air inlet amount.

[0066] When the electric signal is lost, the electroactive side deflector 242 will retract, driving the upper deflector 19 to contract along the direction of the arrow A inwardly. Figure 4 The electroactive side deflector 242 expands along the direction of the arrow A outwardly, and drives the upper deflector 19 to move along the direction of the arrow A outwardly, thereby increasing the cross-sectional area of the air inlet passage 115 to increase the air inlet amount.

[0067] In an embodiment, the adjustable-area air induction scoop further comprises an outer moving plate 20 provided on the XY plane where the air induction port 113 is located, and integrally connected with the upper deflector 19, and capable of moving by virtue of the deformation of the electroactive side deflector 24.

[0068] Continuing to refer to Figure 4 It is shown that the outer moving plate 20 is integrally connected with the upper deflector 19, and when the upper deflector 9 expands along the direction of the arrow A outwardly, the outer moving plate 20 is driven to move along with it, and moves along the direction of the arrow C' to overlap with the air inlet passage outer wall plate 16 located on the air inlet passage 12, so as to avoid the accumulation of gas or the influence of a large flow rate of gas in the space B above the air inlet passage 115, thereby causing the deflector 114 to move. Figure 4 Figure 4 When the side deflector 24 retracts, the upper deflector 19 contracts along the direction of the arrow A inwardly, and the outer moving plate 20 moves along the direction of the arrow C.

[0069] When the side deflector 24 retracts, the upper deflector 19 contracts along the direction of the arrow A inwardly, and the outer moving plate 20 moves along the direction of the arrow C. Figure 3 Since the cross-sectional area of the air inlet passage 115 is reduced at this time, it means that a large amount of cooling gas is not needed, and therefore the impact of the cooling gas on the deflector 114 is reduced, and the outer moving plate 20 does not need to overlap with the air inlet passage outer wall plate 16.

[0070] Returning to Figure 3 Since the bottom deflector 17 is fixedly connected to the first flange edge 181 and the second flange edge 182, and the second flange edge 182 is fixedly provided on the outer peripheral surface 121 of the air inlet passage 12, the part of the side deflector 24 located between the second flange edge 182 and the bottom deflector 17 is a non-electroactive material, i.e. Figure 5 ​The non-electroactive side guide vanes 241 are shown. The side guide vanes 24 that are not located between the lower guide vanes 17 and the second flange edge 182 are electroactive side guide vanes 242. This arrangement is to avoid the expansion extrusion force of the electroactive material on the second flange edge 182 and the lower guide vanes 17 fixedly arranged during the expansion process, so as to avoid the damage of the second flange edge 182 and the lower guide vanes 17 by the electroactive material.

[0071] In combination with the above introduction of the adjustable-area air induction scoop, it can also be understood that a ventilation cooling system includes the adjustable-area air induction scoop 111, at least one temperature sensor 33 and a control center 31.

[0072] The temperature sensor 33 is arranged on the inner side of the air inlet channel 12 to monitor the ambient temperature in the fan cabin 14. The control center 31 is used to receive the temperature data from the temperature sensor 33, and send an electrical signal to the electroactive side guide vanes 242 after threshold judgment of the temperature data, so as to make the electroactive side guide vanes 242 deform.

[0073] Specifically, in combination with ​ As shown, the first temperature sensor 27, the second temperature sensor 28, the third temperature sensor 29 and the fourth temperature sensor 30 located at different positions in the fan cabin 14 transmit the ambient temperature data in the fan cabin 14 to the control center 31, and the control center 31 judges whether the temperature in the fan cabin 14 exceeds the normal working temperature range of the engine accessories.

[0074] In one embodiment, the control center 31 is electrically connected to the electroactive side guide vanes 242 through the signal output line 25 to transmit an electrical signal to the electroactive side guide vanes 242 to drive the electroactive side guide vanes 242 to expand and deform.

[0075] If the temperature exceeds the threshold value, that is, the cabin temperature exceeds the normal working temperature range of the components, at this time, the air intake needs to be increased to increase the introduction of cooling gas. Therefore, after the threshold judgment by the control center 31, an electrical signal is sent to the guide vanes 114 of the air induction scoop 111 to drive the electroactive side guide vanes 242 made of electroactive material to expand, and through the expansion of the electroactive side guide vanes 242, the upper guide vanes 19 and the outer moving plate 20 of the scoop are driven to move, so that the air induction port of the air inlet channel 115 of the air induction scoop is enlarged to increase the air induction amount of the cooling gas of the scoop, thereby rapidly reducing the temperature in the fan cabin 14 to the normal working temperature range of the engine accessories.

[0076] Conversely, when the temperature sensor 33 monitors that the ambient temperature in the fan compartment 14 is lower than the engine accessory operating temperature range, it indicates that the cooling gas flow rate does not need to be continuously increased or the current cooling gas introduction amount needs to be reduced, so the control center 31 reduces the expansion amount of the electroactive side deflector 242 by reducing the voltage or stopping the power supply, thereby driving the upper deflector 19 to move reversely to reduce the opening area of the air inlet passage 115 and reduce the air induction amount.

[0077] The threshold is the normal operating temperature in the nacelle. The size of the threshold is determined by the staff according to the specific operating temperature of different types of nacelles.

[0078] The above ventilation cooling system can adaptively adjust the air induction amount according to different operating conditions of the engine, and by setting the temperature sensor and the control center, the air induction amount can be adaptively changed in different temperature environments, so that the smoothness of the outer surface of the engine nacelle is improved as much as possible while meeting the ventilation cooling requirements, thereby reducing the loss of aerodynamic performance.

[0079] It should be noted that the words "first", "second", etc. are used to limit the parts in the application, and are only used to facilitate the differentiation of the corresponding parts. If there is no further declaration, the above words do not have special meanings, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the protection scope of the application.

[0080] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation words such as "outer, inner, axial, radial, left, right", "transverse, vertical, perpendicular, horizontal" and "top, bottom" and the like indicated orientation or position relationship are usually based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and are only used for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description. Without making the opposite statement, these orientation words do not indicate and imply that the indicated device or element must have a particular orientation or be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the protection scope of the present application; the orientation words "inner, outer" refer to the inner and outer of the contour of each part itself; the orientation words "axial, radial" refer to the axial direction according to the structure of the engine, and the radial direction is orthogonal to the axial direction.

[0081] Although the present application is disclosed with the preferred embodiments as above, it is not intended to limit the present application, and any person skilled in the art can make possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, any modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present application, which does not deviate from the technical solutions of the present application, falls within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. An adjustable-area bleed air scoop for introducing cooling air, arranged on an air inlet channel (12), comprising a bleed air inlet (113), a bleed air outlet (112) and a deflector plate (114) which encloses an air inlet passage (115), characterized in that, at least part of the deflector plate (114) is made of electroactive material which can be deformed when receiving different electrical signals to change the cross-sectional area of the air inlet passage (115) enclosed by the deflector plate (114); the deflector plate (114) comprises an upper deflector plate (19), a lower deflector plate (17) and a side deflector plate (24), the side deflector plate (24) connecting the upper deflector plate (19) and the lower deflector plate (17), part of the side deflector plate (24) being made of electroactive material, the upper deflector plate (19) is movably arranged, and the lower deflector plate (17) is fixedly arranged to prevent deformation of part of the side deflector plate (24) towards the lower deflector plate (17); the adjustable-area bleed air scoop further comprises an outer moving plate (20) arranged on the plane of the bleed air inlet (113) and integrally connected with the upper deflector plate (19), which can move by deformation of the side deflector plate (24); the bleed air inlet (113) is fixed to the outer circumferential surface (121) of the air inlet channel (12) by a second flange (182), and the bleed air outlet (112) is fixed to the axial side wall surface (122) of the air inlet channel (12) by a first flange (181), and the lower deflector plate (17) is fixedly connected with the first flange (181) and the second flange (182); the side deflector plate (24) between the second flange (182) and the lower deflector plate (17) is made of non-electroactive material.

2. Ventilation cooling system for the ventilation cooling of a nacelle, characterized in that Comprising: the adjustable-area bleed air scoop (111) according to claim 1; at least one temperature sensor (33) arranged inside the air inlet channel (12); a control center (31) for receiving temperature data from the temperature sensor (33) and sending electrical signals to part of the deflector plate (114) after threshold judgment of the temperature data to make the electroactive material of the part of the deflector plate (114) deform.

3. The ventilation cooling system of claim 2, wherein, The control center is electrically connected with part of the deflector plate (114) through a signal output line (25).

4. The ventilation cooling system of claim 2, wherein, The system comprises a plurality of temperature sensors (33) arranged at different positions inside the air inlet channel (12).

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