Moveable Wing Tip Airflow Channel for Ground Load Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft wing spans are often limited by airport operating rules, necessitating moveable wing tips to reduce ground span and manage aerodynamic loads, but existing designs focus primarily on flight conditions, neglecting ground-based load management.
Innovation Solution
Aircraft wing tips with an airflow channel that can switch between closed and open configurations, allowing airflow when on the ground to reduce aerodynamic loads, enabling a reduced wing span compliant with airport clearance limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the wing span is reduced on the ground to comply with airport clearance limits, then the aircraft can comply with gate limits and maneuver around the airport, but aerodynamic loads on the wing tip and connected components increase during ground operations
Solution Approach 1:
The wing tip is designed to be moveable relative to the fixed wing, allowing it to change configuration between flight and on-ground states. This dynamic adjustment enables the wing span to be reduced on the ground while maintaining aerodynamic load management capabilities through the open airflow channel configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The airflow channel can switch between closed and open configurations, changing the aerodynamic parameters of the wing tip. When open during ground operations, this parameter change reduces aerodynamic loads on the wing tip even when the span is reduced, resolving the contradiction between span reduction and load management
2Force
If the airflow channel is closed during flight to manage aerodynamic loads, then lift and load characteristics are optimized for flight, but aerodynamic loads on the wing tip increase during ground operations
Solution Approach 1:
The airflow channel configuration is made dynamic, switching from closed during flight to open during ground operations. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize for flight performance while reducing aerodynamic loads during ground operations, improving safety and reducing component stress
Solution Approach 2:
The aerodynamic parameters of the wing tip are changed by opening the airflow channel during ground operations. This parameter change reduces drag and aerodynamic loads on the wing tip during ground maneuvers, addressing the contradiction between flight optimization and ground operation safety
3Reliability
If larger and more complex hinges and actuators are used to support the wing tip in reduced span configuration, then the wing tip can maintain position against aerodynamic loads, but the device complexity and mass increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces purely mechanical support systems with a combined aerodynamic-mechanical system. By using the open airflow channel to reduce aerodynamic loads on the wing tip during ground operations, the mechanical hinges and actuators experience reduced forces, allowing for simpler and lighter designs while maintaining position stability
Solution Approach 2:
Changing the airflow channel to an open configuration during ground operations modifies the aerodynamic parameters, reducing the loads that the mechanical support system must withstand. This allows for reduced complexity in the hinge and actuator design while maintaining reliable position control
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
Reduces aerodynamic loads on the wing tip and connected components, allowing for smaller, less complex hinges and actuators, and ensuring compliance with airport gate limits while on the ground.
Implementation Method 1
an airflow channel extending between upper and lower surfaces of the wing tip, wherein the airflow channel has a closed configuration in which airflow through the channel between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing tip is restricted, and an open configuration in which airflow through the channel between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing tip is enabled
Data Source
AI summary
A method for reducing aerodynamic loads on an aircraft located on the ground includes moving a wing tip relative to a fixed wing to an on-ground configuration in which the span of the wing is reduced. The wing tip includes an airflow channel, which is in an open configuration in which airflow through the channel between upper and lower surfaces of the wing tip is enabled, when the wing tip is in the on-ground configuration. This has been found to reduce aerodynamic loads on the wing tip and/or parts of the aircraft connected thereto during this phase of the aircraft's use.