Buoyant Wing Airfoil Vehicle With Vector Thrust Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighter-than-air vehicles face challenges in control and operation, particularly in navigating wind and maintaining stability, which limits their endurance and operational capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The design of an extended endurance air vehicle featuring a wing airfoil-shaped body with multiple hulls and a propulsion assembly that includes independently controlled engines, allowing for precise control and maneuverability, along with a buoyant fluid system for lift and a power assembly for extended operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional lighter-than-air vehicle designs are used, then the vehicle can achieve buoyant flight, but the vehicle lacks direct controls to compensate for wind and has poor navigation capability
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent engines (port front, port rear, starboard front, starboard rear) with independently controlled thrust vectors. This allows granular control over different aspects of vehicle motion, enabling precise navigation and wind compensation without requiring a monolithic complex control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system uses dynamically adjustable thrust vectors from multiple engines that can be independently modulated in real-time. This dynamic control approach allows the vehicle to adapt to changing wind conditions and maintain precise navigation, transforming the static buoyant flight into a dynamically controllable platform.
2Ease of operation
If multiple independently controlled engines are added to improve control and maneuverability, then the vehicle achieves better navigation capability, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each engine in the propulsion assembly serves multiple functions: primary thrust generation, thrust vectoring for attitude control, and collaborative control for navigation. This multi-functionality allows the vehicle to achieve superior maneuverability with a relatively compact propulsion system, as each component contributes to multiple control objectives simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The propulsion assembly uses an asymmetric arrangement of engines with independently controlled thrust vectors, allowing different engines to operate at different power levels and angles. This asymmetric control capability provides fine-grained maneuverability without requiring symmetric redundancy, optimizing the balance between control precision and system complexity.
3Productivity
If the vehicle operates beyond line of sight of the operator, then the operational range is extended, but the control and monitoring difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle incorporates sensors and communication systems that provide real-time feedback to the operator, enabling effective remote control beyond line of sight. The independently controlled engines respond to feedback signals, allowing the operator to navigate and monitor the vehicle at extended ranges while maintaining situational awareness and control precision.
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
Enables improved takeoff, in-flight control, and recovery, with enhanced operational capabilities, including the ability to operate close to or beyond the operator's line of sight, and supports extended missions with high data rate sensors for applications like news coverage and surveillance.
Implementation Method 1
the vehicle body has the shape of a wing airfoil so that the vehicle body generates lift when air flows over the vehicle body
Implementation Method 2
each hull defines a fluid chamber that is filled with a fluid that is at least partially buoyant
Data Source
AI summary
An air vehicle comprises a vehicle body and a propulsion assembly. The vehicle body has the shape of a wing airfoil to generate lift when air flows over the vehicle body. The vehicle body has a body longitudinal axis and substantially planar port and starboard sides of composite material, and includes first and second hulls that are secured together side-by-side, the hulls having longitudinal axes that are substantially parallel to the body longitudinal axis and two substantially planar side walls at least one of which is of composite material. Each hull defines a separate fluid chamber that is filled with a fluid that is at least partially buoyant. The propulsion assembly is secured to the vehicle body port and starboard sides. The propulsion assembly includes port front and rear engines and starboard front and rear engines, wherein at least two of the engines have independently controlled thrust vectors.