Fluidic Flight Control Air Supply Decoupled From Engine Bleed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern jet engines face challenges in supporting both engine bleed for pilot life support and fluidic flight control, as the demand for bleed air is continuously varying and can impact engine stability, making it difficult to maintain power and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A control system featuring a dedicated compressor generating compressed fluid, a dump duct for excess fluid, and a controller to adjust the massflow rate, allowing for independent fluidic control without relying on main engine bleed, ensuring responsiveness and reducing engine demand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If engine bleedmass offtake is used for fluidic flight control, then fluidic control effectors can be actuated, but engine power is significantly reduced and engine stability is impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the fluid supply function from the main engine by introducing a dedicated auxiliary compressor. This segmentation allows the main engine to focus on propulsion while the auxiliary compressor handles fluidic control demands, resolving the contradiction between control actuation and engine power maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
An auxiliary compressor acts as an intermediary component between the air supply source and the fluidic control effectors. This intermediary device enables control effector actuation without directly extracting bleedmass from the main engine, thus preserving engine power and stability while achieving the desired control functionality.
2Speed
If engine bleedmass is continuously varied to meet fluidic control demands, then control responsiveness is improved, but engine stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segregating the variable demand function to the auxiliary compressor rather than the main engine, the system achieves rapid control responsiveness through the auxiliary compressor while the main engine operates stably at constant conditions. This functional segmentation resolves the contradiction between responsiveness and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary compressor serves as a mediator that absorbs the variable demand fluctuations required for responsive control. It translates pilot inputs into rapid fluidic control responses without transmitting these variations to the main engine, thereby maintaining both control responsiveness and engine stability.
3Device complexity
If main engine bleedmass is used for both life support and fluidic control, then system complexity is reduced, but engine operating conditions become unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the air supply function into two separate sources: the main engine for life support and cockpit systems, and an auxiliary compressor for fluidic control effectors. This segmentation isolates the variable control demands from the main engine, maintaining stable engine operating conditions while accepting increased system complexity through the addition of the auxiliary compressor.
Solution Approach 2:
The auxiliary compressor acts as an intermediary that handles the variable demand for fluidic control without affecting main engine operating conditions. This intermediary approach resolves the contradiction by accepting the trade-off of added system complexity to preserve engine stability.
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
This solution reduces the demand on the main engine while maintaining high responsiveness to control inputs, providing a stable and efficient fluidic control system that decouples engine operating conditions from fluidic control demands, enhancing engine stability and performance.
Implementation Method 1
at least one compressor arranged to generate compressed fluid having a massflow rate
Implementation Method 2
at least one fluidic control effector in fluidic communication with the at least one compressor and arranged to change the direction of travel of the vehicle when the compressed fluid is incident on the at least one fluidic control effector
Implementation Method 3
a dump valve for controlling the massflow rate of compressed fluid delivered to the dump duct
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a control system for a vehicle, comprising: at least one compressor arranged to generate compressed fluid having a massflow rate; at least one fluidic control effector in fluidic communication with the at least one compressor and arranged to change the direction of travel of the vehicle when the compressed fluid is incident on the at least one fluidic control effector; a dump duct for expelling excess compressed fluid not delivered to the at least one fluidic control effector out of the vehicle; a dump valve for controlling the massflow rate of compressed fluid delivered to the dump duct; and a controller electrically coupled to the dump valve and configured to adjust the dump valve. The present disclosure also relates to an aircraft having the control system and a method of controlling a vehicle.