Inflatable Sail Cells for Single-Point Air Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inflatable sails lack consistent inflation patterns during handling phases, are prone to flapping or damage, require multiple air injection points, and face deployment challenges due to uneven airflow distribution, leading to potential blockages and increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
The sail features a plurality of cells separated by air-porous ribs made of flexible material, allowing uniform air circulation and force transmission, with a single air injection point located at the sail's base, and a guide line for maintaining alignment during hoisting and lowering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If multiple air injection points are used for hoisting folded sail, then deployment speed is improved, but device complexity increases and manufacturing becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The sail is divided into multiple cells separated by ribs, allowing air to be distributed throughout the sail volume through a single injection point. The ribs create segmented pathways that guide air flow to different sections of the sail, enabling efficient inflation without requiring multiple injection points.
Solution Approach 2:
The ribs act as intermediary structures between the single air injection point and the various sections of the sail. These ribs provide internal air pathways that mediate the distribution of air from the injection point to all parts of the sail, eliminating the need for multiple injection points while maintaining rapid deployment.
2Ease of operation
If flexible sail material is used, then ease of operation is improved, but stability during handling phases deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sail is segmented into multiple cells by ribs, which provide structural support and defined positioning during handling. These ribs create rigid-like frameworks within the flexible sail structure, preventing excessive flapping and instability during hoisting and lowering while maintaining the overall flexibility and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sail combines flexible material with rigid rib structures to create a composite system. The flexible sail cloth provides ease of operation and adaptability, while the rigid ribs provide structural stability and defined positioning during handling phases, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and stability.
3Device complexity
If uneven airflow distribution is present, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to blockages and deployment difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The sail is divided into multiple cells separated by ribs, creating segmented airflow pathways. This segmentation ensures that air flows evenly throughout the sail volume by distributing it through multiple ribs, preventing blockages in any single area and improving deployment reliability without significantly increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the sail (different cells) are designed with local quality variations through the rib structure. Each cell has ribs that provide localized airflow management, ensuring that air distribution is optimized in each section while maintaining overall system simplicity and improving reliability.
4Power
If constant inflation is maintained, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sail is divided into multiple cells that can be independently managed. This segmentation allows the system to maintain optimal inflation in each cell using distributed air pathways through ribs, improving aerodynamic performance while enabling more efficient energy management by targeting inflation to specific areas rather than constant full-sail inflation.
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
Ensures uniform internal pressure distribution, facilitates automatic inflation and folding, reduces power consumption, and simplifies power supply by positioning fans within the sail's storage compartment, while preventing twisting and enhancing performance.
Implementation Method 1
each cell extending from the leading edge to the trailing edge, said cells being spaced by a rib made of a first flexible material which allows air to pass through
Implementation Method 2
Aerodynamic lift:component of the force experienced by a body moving in a fluid that acts perpendicularly to the direction of motion
Implementation Method 3
Aerodynamic drag: component of the force experienced by a body moving in a fluid that acts in the opposite direction to the direction of motion
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a sail propulsion element comprising: a mast (3); an inflatable sail (1) consisting essentially of two adjacent surfaces (4a, 4b) that are substantially leak-tight and linked to each other about the periphery thereof, thereby forming at least one closed cavity between them about the mast (3), said sail comprising an upper portion, a lower portion, a leading edge (6) and a trailing edge (7); at least one air duct placed between the inside and the outside of the cavity of the sail; at least one means for injecting air into said cavity, the sail, once inflated, having a profile that remains permanently symmetrical, irrespective of the movement of said propulsion element or the direction or intensity of the wind; a headboard located on the upper portion of the sail; and a sail receptacle located between the leading edge and the trailing edge on the lower portion of the sail. The element is characterised in that the sail comprises a plurality of cells (5) arranged spanwise across the sail, each cell (5) extending from the leading edge (6) to the trailing edge (7), said cells (5) being spaced apart by a rib consisting of a first flexible material.