Deformable Aircraft Propeller Blade for Stall Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional propellers have a narrow working range, leading to inefficiencies and safety issues due to rigid blades that cannot adapt to changing airflow conditions, resulting in stalls and limited subsonic speed utilization.
Innovation Solution
A propeller design featuring a blade structure with a deformable, sail-like material and a fan-like skeleton that allows for non-linear twist along the blade radius, enabling the blade geometry to adapt to airflow changes, thus maintaining optimal angle distribution and preventing stalls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If rigid blades with fixed geometry are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the propeller working range is limited and stalls occur under varying airflow conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The blade structure transitions from a static rigid form to a dynamic deformable structure. The sail-like material allows the blade geometry to change continuously in response to varying airflow conditions, enabling the propeller to maintain optimal performance across a wide working range without stalling.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade's geometric parameters (shape, angle distribution) are no longer fixed but can change dynamically. The deformable material allows continuous adjustment of blade geometry to match changing airflow conditions, effectively changing the propeller's operational parameters in real-time.
2Speed
If blade tip speed is increased to expand speed range, then higher maximum speed is achieved, but extreme peripheral speeds are reached requiring alternative propulsion methods
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing rotational speed to expand the propeller's speed range, the invention uses dynamic blade deformation to adapt to different forward speeds. The deformable blades maintain optimal angle distribution across a wide speed spectrum, allowing the aircraft to achieve high speeds without the blade tips reaching extreme peripheral velocities that would require alternative propulsion.
3Adaptability or versatility
If variable pitch airscrews are used to expand working range, then adaptability improves, but the fundamental limitation of narrow working range remains due to rigid blade structure
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces rigid variable-pitch blades with flexible sail-like material that naturally deforms to achieve optimal geometry. This eliminates the need for complex pitch adjustment mechanisms while achieving the same or better adaptability, as the flexible material passively conforms to airflow conditions rather than requiring active mechanical adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved efficiency propeller for aircraft includes a blade structure mounted onto a propeller hub, a servo unit, and a cantilevered base. A distinctive feature of the disclosure is that the blade structure includes a main mast, which is mounted onto a propeller hub and forms the spine of the leading edge of the blade structure, and at least one secondary mast aligned with the main mast, and turning spacers with struts are mounted onto the main mast, and the struts are covered by lateral pieces of a skin module, and the overlapping and flexible lateral pieces of the skin module form a skin.