Pitot Probe Water Blockage Prevention Geometric Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small aircraft, including UAVs, face challenges with traditional pitot probes due to weight, size, and power constraints, and existing solutions like heated probes or calibrated designs with drain holes are not feasible for these applications, as they either require excessive resources or are ineffective in preventing water blockage in rain, sleet, or snow.
Innovation Solution
The development of lightweight, inexpensive pitot probes with passive geometrical and material configurations to prevent water blockage, including hydrophilic materials, water reservoirs, and specific orifice geometries that break up water droplets, eliminating the need for heating or air flow, making them suitable for small aircraft.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heated pitot probe is used to vaporize water droplets, then water blockage is prevented, but weight and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the thermal field (heating system) with a geometric field solution. By designing specific geometries for the inlet orifice and internal air pressure passage, water droplets are prevented from blocking the orifice through geometric constraints rather than thermal vaporization. This eliminates the need for heating elements and power consumption while maintaining water blockage prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the pitot probe components, specifically the inlet orifice shape and internal passage configuration. These geometric parameter changes create flow patterns and pressure distributions that prevent water droplet accumulation and blockage, providing a passive solution that does not require active heating or energy input.
2Reliability
If traditional pitot probe with drain hole is used, then water can be removed, but manufacturing complexity and calibration requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the water removal function from the operational phase and transfers it to the maintenance phase. Instead of providing continuous or periodic water removal through drain holes during operation, the design allows water to collect in the internal passage until the probe is removed from service, at which point water is manually emptied. This simplifies manufacturing by eliminating complex drainage systems while maintaining reliability.
3Reliability
If large diameter pitot probe is used to prevent water droplet plugging, then water blockage is prevented, but weight and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designing specific geometric features at critical locations (inlet orifice and internal passage) rather than increasing the overall probe diameter. The localized geometric modifications create flow conditions that prevent water droplet blockage while maintaining a compact, lightweight probe structure suitable for small aircraft and UAVs.
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
These pitot probes effectively prevent water blockage without requiring power or additional weight, ensuring accurate airspeed measurements in adverse weather conditions, and can be easily replaced when saturated, addressing the constraints of size, cost, and power limitations.
Implementation Method 1
The geometrical configurations include the geometry of the internal air pressure passage of the probe body and/or the geometry of the inlet orifice of the probe
Implementation Method 2
Examples of suitable geometry include, but are not limited to, the orifice being serrated, the orifice being divided into a plurality of smaller tubes, and a screen in the orifice
Data Source
AI summary
Pitot probes are described that are designed to prevent water blockage of the probe's air pressure orifice. The pitot probes are small, inexpensive, light weight and do not require power for heat generation. This makes the pitot probes particularly useful for use on UAV's and other small aircraft where size, cost, weight and power constraints are a major concern. The pitot probes utilize passive methods in the form of geometrical and material configurations to prevent blockage of the pitot probes by water droplets. The probes can also include water reservoirs that store collected water.