Deployable Sheet Wind Curtain for Aircraft Evacuation Slide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft evacuation slides are prone to 'kiting' in high lateral wind conditions, causing the toe end to lift off the ground and potentially blocking the exit, and they lack effective protection from weather in raft mode.
Innovation Solution
An evacuation assembly with a deployable sheet that can be configured as a wind curtain to reduce wind lift on the slide and as a canopy to protect passengers in raft mode, using a single sheet that can be easily switched between configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional evacuation slide is deployed, then passengers can evacuate from the aircraft, but the slide is prone to kiting in high lateral wind conditions causing the toe end to lift off the ground
Solution Approach 1:
A sheet is introduced as an intermediary element between the wind and the evacuation slide. The sheet acts as a mediator that intercepts lateral winds and redirects them, preventing direct wind impact on the slide surface that causes kiting. The sheet is positioned to extend beyond the slide edges and can be configured to form a windbreak barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet converts the harmful wind lift effect into a beneficial downforce on the slide. By positioning the sheet to extend beyond the slide and allowing wind to flow over it, the design creates negative lift (downforce) that presses the slide toe end firmly against the ground, effectively counteracting the kiting phenomenon.
2Reliability
If the evacuation slide is used as a raft in water landing, then passengers can be protected from water impact, but the slide lacks effective protection from weather conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as a windbreak during slide evacuation, provides weather protection (sun, rain, wind) when the slide is used as a raft, and can be configured in different positions to adapt to different operational modes. This single component addresses both wind-related and weather-related protection needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet is configured to be dynamically adjustable between different positions and configurations. It can be positioned to extend vertically as a wind curtain during slide deployment, or repositioned to provide overhead coverage as a canopy when the slide is inflated as a raft, adapting to the operational requirements.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a separate windbreak and canopy system are provided, then wind protection and weather shielding are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The design merges the windbreak and canopy functions into a single sheet component. Instead of providing separate systems for wind protection and weather shielding, one multifunctional sheet performs both roles by being positioned and configured appropriately for each operational mode, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining comprehensive protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The single sheet is designed to universally serve multiple protective functions: windbreak during evacuation, sun protection during raft mode, and rain protection during raft mode. This universal component eliminates the need for multiple specialized systems, simplifying the overall device architecture.
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 sheet effectively prevents the slide from lifting off the ground in wind and provides weather protection when the slide is used as a raft, ensuring safe evacuation and passenger comfort.
Implementation Method 1
the sheet, when in the wind curtain configuration, disrupts air flow over the top side of the evacuation slide to reduce wind lift
Data Source
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AI summary
An evacuation assembly (208) of an aircraft includes an evacuation slide (220) and a sheet (240) coupled to the evacuation slide (220). The sheet (240) may be deployable in a wind curtain configuration and a canopy configuration. In the wind curtain configuration, the sheet (240) may extend, as a substantially vertical panel, longitudinally along opposing lateral sides of the evacuation slide. In the canopy configuration the sheet (240) may extend over at least a portion of a top side of the evacuation slide (220). In the canopy configuration, the sheet (240) may include a first portion that is the substantially vertical panel that extends longitudinally along the opposing lateral sides of the evacuation slide (220) and a second portion that extends over the top side of the evacuation slide (220). The second portion of the curtain may in a furled, collapsed form in the wind curtain configuration and may be configured to unfurl in the canopy configuration.