Lifting Foil With Flow Guides To Balance Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircrafts face significant energy losses due to induced drag, primarily caused by vortices shed from wing tips, which existing technologies have not fully addressed, leading to inefficiencies in flight and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A lifting foil design featuring a horizontal upper course, a parallel and spaced-apart trailing lower course, and vertically extending flow guides that balance pressure at the margins, reducing spanwise fluid flow and vortex generation, thereby minimizing drag and enhancing lift.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional wing designs are used, then lift is generated, but induced drag increases due to vortex formation at wing tips
Solution Approach 1:
The wing is divided into an upper course and a lower course that are spaced apart, with flow guides connecting them. This segmentation prevents the formation of continuous vortices along the span while maintaining lift generation through the pressure differential between the two courses.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a conventional single-plane wing to a three-dimensional box-wing configuration with vertical flow guides connecting upper and lower courses. This dimensional change allows pressure balancing in the spanwise direction, eliminating the spanwise flow that causes vortex formation at wing tips.
2Use of energy by moving object
If wing span is increased to reduce induced drag, then lift efficiency improves, but structural complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The upper and lower wing courses are connected by vertical flow guides that serve dual purposes: they structurally join the two courses and simultaneously function as flow control surfaces that balance pressure and prevent spanwise flow. This merging reduces the need for additional drag-reduction devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow guides serve multiple functions: they provide structural support between the upper and lower courses, control the pressure distribution, prevent spanwise flow, and eliminate vortex formation. This multi-functionality reduces overall wing structure complexity while maintaining lift efficiency.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If flow guides are added to balance pressure at margins, then vortex generation is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flow guides are integrated into the wing structure itself, serving both as structural connectors between upper and lower courses and as aerodynamic surfaces for pressure control. This eliminates the need for separate vortex-reduction devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow guides utilize the natural pressure differential between the upper and lower wing surfaces to automatically balance pressures at the margins. The structure self-regulates the flow without requiring external control systems or additional active components.
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 design achieves reduced drag, increased stability, and improved lift efficiency by balancing pressure and reducing vortex formation, resulting in enhanced aerodynamic performance and energy savings for aircraft.
Implementation Method 1
a working fluid, for example, but not limited to water, air or other fluid particulate which may include solids therein, flows from fore to aft through a large central passage and is first entrained by the leading upper course, where it exerts dynamic pressure outwardly against an exposed first surface of the foil. The working fluid also flows around the exterior of the foil, exerting dynamic pressure inwardly against a second surface thereof. The region between the first and second surfaces defines a cambered lifting body which reacts to the dynamic pressure on its first and second surfaces by generating a net upwardly directed lifting force.
Implementation Method 2
The pressure balancing is accomplished by configuring the starboard flow guides to have a cross section which will reduce a dynamic pressure from a maximum value at the upper starboard margin to a midpoint value of zero, while simultaneously increasing the dynamic pressure from a midpoint value of zero to a maximum value at the lower starboard margin.
Data Source
AI summary
A lifting foil having a lower trailing course having a margins and an upper leading course margins connected in a manner to enhance lift of the foil.