Aircraft Wing Vortex Control via Aspirating Purging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerodynamic bodies, such as aircraft wings and tail assemblies, suffer from unnecessary drag and elevated fuel consumption due to permanently generated vortices, which also increase weight and reduce cruising range or payload.
Innovation Solution
An aerodynamic body with a contoured surface featuring passages and indentations that work in conjunction with an aspirating and purging device to alternately aspirate and purge fluid, creating a swirl that stabilizes the flow and delays separation, reducing noise and drag.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vortex generators are permanently installed on the aerodynamic body surface, then flow separation is reduced and aerodynamic stability is improved, but drag increases and fuel consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The vortex generators are designed to be dynamically adjustable rather than permanently fixed. The inclination angle and deployment status can be changed based on flight conditions, allowing the system to provide aerodynamic stability when needed while minimizing drag during cruise flight.
Solution Approach 2:
The vortex generator parameters (inclination angle, deployment position) are varied according to flight status. During takeoff and landing, the vortex generators are deployed at optimal angles to prevent flow separation. During cruise flight, they are retracted or adjusted to minimal inclination to reduce drag and fuel consumption.
2Adaptability or versatility
If compressed air is routed through lines and valves to generate vortices on demand, then vortex generation is controllable, but structural weight increases and fuel consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The complex compressed air routing system with lines and valves is replaced by extracting the essential function of vortex generation directly from the aerodynamic flow itself. The system uses the ambient airflow to create vortices through geometric features rather than forcing compressed air through complex piping infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The aerodynamic body itself generates the required vortices using its own surface geometry and ambient airflow, without requiring external compressed air supplies. The surface features automatically interact with the passing flow to create the desired vortex structures, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating heavy supporting infrastructure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If additional structural components are integrated into the aerodynamic body for vortex generation, then vortex control is achieved, but overall weight increases and cruising range is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The vortex generation function is merged with the aerodynamic surface itself rather than being implemented as separate additional components. The surface geometry features directly create vortices, eliminating the need for separate structural systems and reducing overall weight, thereby preserving cruising range and payload capacity.
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 solution effectively stabilizes the flow around the aerodynamic body, reducing instances of flow separation and noise, while minimizing drag and fuel consumption by generating a stable swirl that imparts energy to the fluid, thus enhancing the aerodynamic performance.
Implementation Method 1
The aspirating and purging device (43) is designed in such a way as to periodically cause fluid to be alternately aspirated and purged through the passage, allowing it to generate a swirl in the flow of the fluid streaming around the aerodynamic surface
Implementation Method 2
This swirl imparts energy to the fluid streaming around the aerodynamic body, which in conjunction with the swirl can lead to a situation where the flow exhibits a more stable boundary layer behind the respective arrangement
Implementation Method 3
to prevent flow separation or shift it into a rear area of the aerodynamic surface by situating at least one arrangement comprised of a respective passage and indentation in this area of the aerodynamic surface
Data Source
AI summary
An aerodynamic body with an aerodynamic body surface that creates a contoured surface for a fluid to stream around, with a device to influence the flow of the fluid streaming around the aerodynamic surface. The flow-influencing device includes a passage to link the fluid streaming around the aerodynamic surface with an actuator space of an aspirating and purging device situated in the aerodynamic body, and an indentation that is situated next to the passage, which is formed by a recessed section of the aerodynamic surface on a flow-influencing region within the contoured surface of the aerodynamic surface, so that a boundary wall is configured as part of the recessed surface lying opposite the indentation. The aspirating and purging device can generate a swirl in the flow of the fluid streaming around the aerodynamic surface, the rotational axis of which is directed along the assumed aerodynamic body chord direction.