Flexible Fairing Mainmast for Sailing Boat Aerodynamic Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sailing boat designs face challenges in optimizing aerodynamic performance of the mainmast due to varying air flow angles caused by the jib, especially at different heights, leading to difficulties in maintaining optimal thrust and avoiding stall conditions.
Innovation Solution
A mainmast design featuring a flexible fairing with a deformable airfoil that adjusts its orientation in response to varying air flow angles, compensating for the effects of the jib's height-dependent airflow by twisting and aligning the leading edge to optimize aerodynamic conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mainmast uses a fixed airfoil orientation, then the structure is simple and stable, but the aerodynamic performance deteriorates due to varying airflow angles at different heights caused by the jib
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the fairing portion of the mainmast flexible rather than rigid. The fairing can deform and rotate about the vertical axis to adapt to varying airflow angles at different heights. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the airfoil orientation to change with height, maintaining optimal aerodynamic performance without requiring a completely complex adjustable mechanism throughout the entire mast structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the local quality principle by applying flexibility and adaptability only to the fairing portion of the mainmast where the airflow variation is most significant, rather than making the entire mast structure complex. The fairing can locally adjust its orientation to compensate for jib-induced airflow changes, while the rest of the mast maintains structural simplicity and stability.
2Force
If the mainmast airfoil is optimized for a specific airflow angle, then the thrust is maximized at that angle, but the performance deteriorates when airflow angle varies with height
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible fairing can dynamically adjust its orientation angle about the vertical axis to match the local airflow angle at each height. This allows the airfoil to maintain optimal attack angle relative to the incoming flow, maximizing longitudinal thrust force at all heights rather than being optimized for a single fixed angle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the orientation parameter of the airfoil locally through the flexible fairing's deformation and rotation. By allowing the fairing to rotate about the vertical axis, the airfoil's effective angle of attack can be adjusted to match varying airflow conditions at different heights, maintaining optimal thrust generation across the entire mast height.
3Productivity
If the leading edge is aligned with the apparent wind direction, then the aerodynamic efficiency is maximized, but the complexity of controlling the orientation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible fairing serves itself by automatically deforming and rotating in response to varying airflow angles caused by the jib. The material's inherent flexibility allows it to self-adjust its orientation to maintain optimal aerodynamic efficiency without requiring external actuators, sensors, or complex control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible fairing made of deformable material that can bend and rotate about the vertical axis. This flexible shell structure allows the leading edge to naturally align with the apparent wind direction at each height through passive deformation, achieving high aerodynamic efficiency without mechanical orientation control systems.
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 flexible fairing ensures consistent aerodynamic performance across varying heights by automatically adapting to airflow changes, enhancing thrust and preventing stall phenomena, thus improving sailing performance.
Implementation Method 1
the upright P defines an airfoil or aerofoil... configured in order to have two opposite surfaces 21a and 21b, which are convex, extend from a leading edge 50
Implementation Method 2
a fairing 60... formed by a relatively thin-walled semi-shell, made of flexible material, namely, elastically deformable
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A mainmast (21) has a support base (S) suitable to be fixed to a hull (11) of a sailing boat (1), and an upright (P), which extends along an axis from the support base (S), carries an airfoil, having a leading edge (62) and two lateral surfaces (63a,63b) opposite to each other, and is rotatable about its axis with respect to the support base (S) to position the leading edge (62); said airfoil is defined by a flexible fairing (60), which is arranged in front of a lower portion (P1) of the mainmast (P) and has a first and a second connecting portion (64,65) axially spaced apart from each other; the first connecting portion (64) is coupled to the upright (P) so as to rotate together with the latter with respect to the second connecting portion (65) and twist the airfoil of the fairing (60) due to the rotation.