1633 results about "Cowling" patented technology

A skirt panel is provided herein for interconnection to another abutted similar skirt panel for attachment beneath a lower, outer longitudinally-extending edge of a trailer including a rear wheel assembly of a tractor-trailer rig, thereby to provide a continuous fairing extending downwardly from the trailer. The skirt panel includes a monolithic, generally-rectangular composite reinforced thermoplastic structure, having vertical lateral side edges configured and arranged for connection to associated vertical lateral side edges of abutting similar skirt panels. This provides a longitudinally-extending fairing for extending contiguously on each side of the trailer, a front face of the thermoplastic structure being provided with a plurality of longitudinally-extending, vertically-spaced-apart arcuate protrusions. The outer face of the thermoplastic panel preferably also is provided with dimples. The reinforcing comprising a panel secured to an inner face of the skirt panel and is provided with laterally-extending means whereby abutting skirt panels are secured to one another; whereby, when said fairing is secured to a lower portion of said trailer, the fairing extends downwardly from the trailer to from 60% to 80% of the distance to the road, so that a portion of any impinging air is directed laterally around the wheels of the rear wheel bogeys to reduce the aerodynamic drag of the trailer and of the wheel assembly.

A turbine frame assembly for a gas turbine engine includes: (a) a turbine frame including: (i) an outer ring; (ii) a hub; (ii) a plurality of struts extending between the hub and the outer ring; (b) a two-piece strut fairing surrounding each of the struts, including: (i) an inner band; (ii) an outer band; and (iii) an airfoil-shaped vane extending between the inner and outer bands; (d) a plurality of nozzle segments disposed between the outer ring and the hub, each nozzle segment being an integral metallic casting including: (i) an arcuate outer band; (ii) an arcuate inner band; and (ii) an airfoil-shaped vane.

A wheel fairing and preferably a set of wheel fairings for reducing aerodynamic drag caused by the left-side and right side wheel sets of a rear wheel assembly supporting a trailer body at its rear end. The fairing body includes a tapered aerodynamic surface with a substantially U-shaped cross-section that tapers from a second end to a first end, and a base surface at the second end with a substantially same dimensional profile as one of the left-side or right-side wheel sets. Fasteners or other mounting devices secure each fairing body to an underside of the trailer body either upstream (as a nose fairing) or downstream (as a tail fairing) of the rear wheel assembly so that the second end is adjacent to an exposed rolling surface of the left-side or right side wheel set.

An air purifier for removing particles from air and providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance includes a housing having an air inlet, an air outlet and an airflow path therethrough. An air filter is mounted within the housing in the airflow path and a motor is mounted within the housing. The motor includes a motor shaft and a fan is mounted to the motor shaft for urging air into the air inlet, through the airflow path and out of the air outlet. An air cowl is removably mounted to the housing. The air cowl includes a peripheral edge. The air inlet or the air outlet is defined between the peripheral edge and the housing. A method of operating the air purifier with the inlet or outlet formed between the peripheral edge and the housing is also disclosed.

A combination of vehicle fairing structures forming a fairing system having a front end structure, a rear end structure, and first and second side structures, for optimizing the aerodynamic profile of vehicles, especially tractor-trailer combinations.

A wireless engine monitoring system (WEMS) includes an engine monitoring module that is mounted directly on an aircraft engine and records, stores, encrypts and transmits full flight engine data. The system preferably interfaces to the Full Authority Digital Engine Controller / Engine Control Unit (FADEC / ECU) and can record hundreds of engine parameters with a preferred sampling frequency of about one second. The engine monitoring module is preferably formed as a miniaturized module directly mounted on the aircraft engine within its cowling and has a conformal antenna. The engine monitoring module can also upload data for onboard processing.

A vehicle fairing structure has a top fairing surface adapted to be attached to a trailer box, and first and second side fairing surfaces adapted to be attached to the sides of the trailer box, in the gap between a tractor cab and a trailer box in a tractor-trailer combination. The fairing structure directs air flow away from the gap, and is positioned in the gap to lessen aerodynamic drag, thereby reducing fuel consumption.

A turbofan engine assembly is provided. The turbofan engine assembly includes a core gas turbine engine, a core cowl which circumscribes the core gas turbine engine, a nacelle positioned radially outward from the core cowl, a fan nozzle duct defined between the core cowl and the nacelle, and an inner core cowl baffle assembly positioned within the fan nozzle duct. The inner core cowl baffle assembly includes a first core cowl baffle coupled to a portion of the core cowl within the fan nozzle duct, a second core cowl baffle coupled to a portion of the core cowl and positioned a distance radially inward from the first core cowl baffle, and an actuator assembly configured to vary the throat area of the fan nozzle duct by selectively repositioning the second core cowl baffle with respect to the first core cowl baffle. A method for operating the turbofan engine assembly is also provided.

Wind turbine system, and related method, is provided that exploits an aerodynamically enhanced wind zone of a structure by aligning a wind turbine generator, and preferably a plurality thereof, along a wall thereof. Each generator includes a structural support, a wind turbine rotor and a generator set. The system includes a mounting assembly that attaches the generators to the upper edge of a wall of the building and that allows for easy retrofit attachment to existing structures. The system includes a busway extending along the mounting assembly and configured to provide electrical contact between the generator assembly and the electrical infrastructure of the building. Preferably, the generator assembly is mounted such that the rotor's axis of rotation is in a generally horizontal orientation. The system may further include a fairing attached to the mounting assembly and configured to extend outward from a front side of the wall. The fairing can be provided with a downwardly curved planar shape to facilitate airflow towards the rotors.

A vehicle fairing structure has a top fairing surface adapted to be attached to a trailer box, and first and second side fairing surfaces adapted to be attached to the sides of the trailer box, in the gap between a tractor cab and a trailer box in a tractor-trailer combination. The fairing structure directs air flow away from the gap, and is positioned in the gap to lessen aerodynamic drag, thereby reducing fuel consumption.

A gas turbine engine comprising a fan section, a compressor, a combustor and a turbine, includes a nacelle having an inner nacelle surface defining an inlet duct designed to reduce an inlet duct area of the inlet duct to increase acoustic attenuation. The gas turbine engine also includes a spinner, disposed forward of the fan section, that includes features to increase acoustic attenuation. In one embodiment of the present invention, the nacelle includes a nacelle contoured surface protruding radially inward from the inner nacelle surface to reduce the inlet duct area. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the spinner includes a spinner contoured surface for reducing the inlet duct area. In other embodiments, the nacelle and / or the spinner include an inflatable bladder, a SMA actuator, a fluidic actuator, or a combination thereof, selectively activated to increase acoustic attenuation during certain conditions of an aircraft.

In an aircraft propulsion system, such as a jet engine, the fan cowls (22) are articulated to the support strut or pylon (12) by which the centre or core engine (14) is connected to a wing element (10). The cowls (22) are kept closed by hooked locks (32a, 32b), which connect their lower edges. To eliminate any risk of accidental opening, guide devices (36, 38) are placed between the lower edges of the cowls (22) and structures (20; 24, 26) connected to the centre engine (14), at least at the front of the cowls. The front structure (20) opposes any axial and radial displacement of the cowls.

A turbofan exhaust nozzle includes a fan duct defined between a fan nacelle and core engine cowling. The duct includes an arcuate outlet at the trailing edge of the nacelle. A movable flap is disposed in a minor portion of the fan duct, with a remaining major portion of the fan duct having a constant flow area. The flap may be moved between stowed and deployed positions to locally decrease flow area inside the duct for noise attenuation.

A turbine exhaust casing having an outer casing, an inner casing, an annular exhaust gas path defined between outer and inner flow path walls, and a turbine exhaust casing cavity located radially outward and radially inward from the gas path. A plurality of structural struts support the inner casing to the outer casing, and a fairing surrounds each of the struts in an area extending between the outer and inner flow path walls. A first purge air path extends through at least one of the struts for conducting purge cooling air radially inward to the inner casing, and a second purge air path extends through the strut for further conducting the purge cooling air radially outward to provide a flow of purge air to a location of the exhaust casing cavity radially outward from the outer flow path wall.

A fairing for a structural strut in a gas turbine engine includes: (a) an inner band; (b) an outer band; (c) a hollow, airfoil-shaped vane extending between the inner and outer bands; (d) wherein the fairing is split along a generally transverse plane passing through the inner band, outer band and vane, so as to define a nose piece and a tail piece; and (e) complementary structures carried by the nose piece and the tail piece adapted to secure the nose piece and the tail piece to each other.

A vehicle underbody fairing apparatus for reducing aerodynamic drag caused by a vehicle wheel assembly, by reducing the size of a recirculation zone formed under the vehicle body immediately downstream of the vehicle wheel assembly. The fairing body has a tapered aerodynamic surface that extends from a front end to a rear end of the fairing body with a substantially U-shaped cross-section that tapers in both height and width. Fasteners or other mounting devices secure the fairing body to an underside surface of the vehicle body, so that the front end is immediately downstream of the vehicle wheel assembly and a bottom section of the tapered aerodynamic surface rises towards the underside surface as it extends in a downstream direction.

A mounting assembly for a forward end of a liner in a combustor of a gas turbine engine including a dome and a cowl, wherein a longitudinal centerline axis extends through the gas turbine engine. The mounting assembly includes a pin member extending through each one of a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings formed in the forward end of the liner, an aft portion of the cowl, and a portion of the dome, with each pin member including a head portion at one end thereof. A nut is adjustably connected to an end of each pin member opposite the head portion. A bushing is located on each pin member at a position intermediate the head portion and the nut, wherein the openings in the liner forward end are sized to fit around the bushings. In this way, the cowl aft portion and the dome portion are fixedly connected together between the bushing and the nut so that the bushings are able to slide radially through the openings in the liner forward end as the cowl and the dome experience thermal growth greater than the liner.

A multi-section blade for a wind turbine comprising a hub extender connected to a hub of the wind turbine is provided. The blade includes at least one pitchable outboard section. The hub extender can have a pitch bearing located near the interface between the hub and hub extender, or the hub extender and outboard blade section. The hub extender can be configured to pitch or not pitch with the outboard blade sections. An aerodynamic fairing is configured to mount over the hub extender and is configured to not pitch with the outboard blade sections.

A three-wheeled vehicle for on-road use with a modular front headlight system that complies with both United States and European Community laws is disclosed. The modular system includes a headlight module, an air intake module, and a fairing module.

An aircraft for carrying at least one rigid cargo container includes a beam structure with a forward fuselage attached to the forward end of the beam structure and an empennage attached to the rearward end of the beam structure. Wings and engines are mounted relative to the beam structure and a fairing creates a cargo bay able to receive standard sized intermodal cargo containers. Intermodal cargo containers of light construction and rigid structure are positioned within the cargo bay and securely mounted therein. The beam structure is designed to support flight, takeoffs and landings when the aircraft is empty but requires the added strength of the containers securely mounted to the beam structure when the aircraft is loaded. The aircraft is contemplated to be a drone.

A device for fastening bumper fairings to the fenders of a motor vehicle. A window is formed in the rim of the bumper fairing and a resilient tongue is provided in the fender to penetrate into said window when the bumper is in place, thereby holding the rim in its housing.

A fairing structure for a vehicle having a front vehicular component and a rear vehicular component in tandem and separated by a gap, comprising a top fairing surface adapted to be attached to the rear vehicular component, a first side surface adapted to be attached to a first side of the rear vehicular component, joining a first end of the top surface and generally perpendicular to the top surface, and a second side surface adapted to be attached to a second side of the rear vehicular component, joining a second end of the top surface opposite the first end and generally perpendicular to the top surface. Each of the top and first and second side surfaces has a proximal edge adapted to be positioned adjacent a vehicle, as well as a distal edge adapted to be positioned away from the vehicle with respect to the respective proximal edge. The proximal edges of the top and side surfaces attach to the leading top and side edges, respectively, of the front surface of the trailer box, so that an approximately uninterrupted surface is formed from the fairing structure to top and sides of the rear vehicular component. The area bounded by the distal edges of the surfaces is smaller than an area bounded by the proximal edges. The top side surface, the first side surface and the second side surface are made of a resilient material in the regions distal from the regions where the first side surface joins the top side surface, and where the second side surface joins the top side surface, the top side surface including a heat and fire resistant material in the regions proximate to the first and second side surface, and the first and second side surfaces including a heat and fire resistant material in the regions proximate to the top side surface.

A vehicle body cooling structure for a motorcycle comprises a cooling air passage that extends between an engine and a fuel tank in the front-and-rear direction. A cowling covers the front part of the vehicle body, which contains the engine. The vehicle body cooling structure also comprises a heat blocking member that covers an upper part of the engine. The cooling air passage is separated into an engine side cooling air passage and a fuel tank side cooling air passage by the heat blocking member.

The windmill assembly is a low drag, streamlined body of revolution that captures the kinetic energy content of the accelerated laminar air surrounding the body. The assembly includes a power-generating, wind-driven turbine that is compact, lightweight and capable of producing a substantially greater output than a conventional windmill with a comparable size rotor. The turbine includes a protruding aerodynamic nose and outer cowling that provide a streamlined, wind-collecting inlet section that constricts the incoming air stream and increases its velocity through the turbine blades. The turbine further includes an exit section designed to exhaust the air stream with a minimum of turbulence. One or more generators are coupled to a turbine wheel, and are electrically switched on and off to maximize the energy capture over the full range of ambient winds. The wind turbine assembly may be configured around a blimp-type body having counter-rotating turbine assemblies.

A system of aerodynamic skirt fairings designed to minimize aerodynamic drag and maintain smoother air flow over highway-operated long-haul tractor-trailer vehicles.

A mobile robot generally including a first suction module, a second suction module and a hinge assembly pivotably connecting the suction modules together. Each of the suction modules includes a support frame defining a vacuum chamber and a vacuum unit supported on the support frame and communicating with the vacuum chamber. The vacuum unit includes a rotating impeller and an exhaust cowling surrounding the impeller. The impeller has an axis of rotation and is adapted to draw air from the vacuum chamber into the impeller in a direction generally parallel to the impeller axis of rotation and to discharge the drawn air in a direction substantially perpendicular to the impeller axis of rotation. The exhaust cowling is adapted to redirect the discharged air, whereby a thrusting force is applied to the support frame in a direction opposite of the direction of the drawn air from the vacuum chamber.

A trailer fairing for reducing aerodynamic drag from trailer landing gear and / or wheel assembly is disclosed. The fairing may be directly connected to the forward facing structural supports of the landing gear, and an air tank may be located between the fairing and the cargo storage area. A single fairing may be used to reduce the drag from both the trailer landing gear and wheel assembly. The fairing may include a tapered front section and / or a rear section. The fairing may have rounded, oval, angled, and / or tapered sections. A plurality of fairings may also be used.

A gas turbine engine has a plurality of radial struts in a bypass duct. At least one strut has a scoop incorporated with the fairing of the strut and in communication with an air passage of an engine secondary air system. The scoop faces a bypass air flow to scoop a portion of the bypass air flow using available dynamic pressure in the bypass duct. Scooped air may be provided, for example, to an active tip clearance control apparatus in a long duct turbofan engine.