Acoustic Panel Heater with Sealant-Filled Apertures for Ice Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft nacelle inlet lips require both sound-reducing and ice-protecting features, but existing solutions often compromise on either noise abatement or ice protection, lacking a comprehensive solution that effectively addresses both issues.
Innovation Solution
An acoustic panel integrated with a heater, featuring sound-penetrating pores and a conductive layer with strategically placed apertures filled with sealant to enhance electrical resistance, allowing for efficient noise reduction and ice protection by utilizing a heater that can be activated during icing conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heater is integrated into the acoustic panel, then ice protection is improved, but the electrical resistance control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive layer incorporates apertures (porous structure) that are filled with sealant material. This porous design allows the sealant to be introduced into the conductive layer's apertures, providing a mechanism to adjust and control electrical resistance while maintaining the heater's ice protection function. The apertures enable the sealant to act as a resistance-controlling element within the conductive path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls electrical resistance by changing the parameters of the sealant material properties (such as conductivity, volume, or composition) and the aperture characteristics (size, distribution, or filling ratio). By adjusting these parameters, the overall electrical resistance of the heater can be precisely controlled to achieve optimal heating performance while maintaining ice protection reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The acoustic panel effectively reduces engine noise and prevents ice accumulation on the nacelle inlet lip, providing a dual-function solution that maintains performance in both noise-abatement and ice-protection aspects.
Implementation Method 1
The heater layer 53 is an electrically conductive layer having an electrical resistance which determines its heating capacity. The apertures 63 in the electrically conductive layer 53 set the electrical resistance and thus the heating capacity of the heater 40.
Implementation Method 2
The heater 40 can be activated to prevent or remove ice accumulation from the nacelle inlet lip 13.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 4A~4G
AI summary
An electric heater (40) for integration into an acoustic panel (20) having sound-penetrating pores (30) communicating with a sound-canceling medium. The heater (40) includes an electrically conductive layer (53) with resistance-setting apertures (63) filled with sealant (73). Openings (83), which contribute to the sound-penetrating pores (30), extend through the sealant-filled apertures (63). The acoustic panel (20) can be assimilated into an aircraft component, such as a nacelle inlet lip, which requires both noise-reducing and ice-protecting features.