Elastic Plastic Foil Section for Adaptive Camber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional sail and keel structures are complex and costly to produce and assemble, and they face high tension forces, making them prone to breakage and inefficient in adapting to changing wind conditions and speeds.
Innovation Solution
A foil section made of self-supporting elastic plastic with a hollow profile that can reversibly bend to maintain adaptive camber and curvature, using a one-piece elastomeric or thermoplastic material with internal ribs for structural support, allowing for efficient shape adaptation and reduced production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional woven materials and laminated membranes are used for sails and keels, then the structure can be made, but the production is complex and costly, and the structure is prone to breakage under high tension forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from traditional woven fabrics and laminated membranes to elastic plastic material. This material parameter change enables the foil to be produced as a one-piece molded structure, dramatically simplifying production while simultaneously improving reliability through the material's inherent elasticity and toughness that resists breakage under high tension forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses elastic plastic material that combines the properties of flexibility and structural integrity. This composite material approach allows the foil to maintain its shape under varying loads while being resistant to breakage, eliminating the need for complex multi-layer composite constructions of traditional materials.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional sails and keels are made with fixed shape, then production is simpler, but they cannot naturally adapt to changing wind conditions and speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by creating a foil structure that can change its shape dynamically in response to varying wind conditions and speeds. The elastic plastic material allows the foil to flex and adapt its camber and curvature automatically, providing versatility without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The foil structure serves itself by automatically adapting its shape through the elastic properties of the plastic material. The structure uses the wind load itself to induce the desired shape changes, eliminating the need for external control systems or complex mechanical devices, thus achieving adaptability with minimal added complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If sails and keels use internal elastic reversible profile or frame to achieve adaptive camber, then the camber can be reversible, but the structure becomes complex and costly to produce and assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of the foil structure and the camber adaptation mechanism into a single integrated elastic plastic component. By combining what would traditionally be separate elements (the foil skin and the internal frame or ribs) into one molded piece, the invention eliminates assembly complexity while maintaining adaptive camber capability through the material's inherent elasticity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes from using mechanical frame structures to achieve camber to using material parameter changes - specifically, utilizing the elastic plastic material's ability to deform and recover. This parameter change from structural geometry to material property enables adaptive camber without the complexity of internal frames or ribs.
4Shape
If frame and support structures are used to maintain foil shape, then the shape can be maintained, but the structure is exposed to significantly high tension forces and may break
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from traditional rigid or semi-rigid materials to elastic plastic material. This parameter change enables the foil to maintain its shape through elastic deformation rather than rigid structural support, significantly improving resistance to tension forces while preserving the desired foil geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic plastic material is pre-formed into the desired foil shape through molding. This preliminary shaping action creates inherent geometric stability that helps maintain the foil shape under load, reducing the need for additional support structures that would be vulnerable to tension forces.
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 solution enables a simpler, cost-effective sail or keel structure that can naturally adapt to changing wind conditions and speeds, reducing the risk of breakage under high tension forces and improving aerodynamic or hydrodynamic efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the hollow profile is made of self-supporting elastic plastic
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a foil section consisting of a hollow profile having a foil shaped axial cross section, characterized in that the hollow profile is made of self-supporting elastic plastic. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the foil section consists of a one-piece elastomeric plastic. In a second aspect, the present invention is directed to a sail or sail section or sail assembly comprising one or more of the foil sections. In a third aspect, the present invention is directed to a keel or keel section or keel assembly comprising one or more of the foil section. In a fourth and fifth aspect and sixth aspect, the present invention is directed to diving fins comprising the foil section as described, and to paddles or rowing oars comprising the foil section as described and to windmill blades comprising the foil section as described.