Fluid Boundary Layer Control
First Claim
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1. An apparatus adapted to control flow of a fluid boundary layer, comprising:
- an aircraft wing housing, having a chord length, a leading edge and a trailing edge;
at least one bearing element, disposed on an interior portion of the aircraft wing housing, disposed between a first endplate and a second endplate, substantially parallel to the chord length of the aircraft wing housing;
at least one rod member, adapted to fit into the at least one bearing element, extending substantially perpendicular to the chord length of the aircraft wing housing, and;
a rotational belt, disposed on an outer surface of the aircraft wing housing, having an inner surface comprising a first coefficient of friction and an outer surface comprising a second coefficient of friction, wherein the inner surface is operationally coupled to the at least one rod member and the outer surface of the rotational belt is in mechanical contact with the fluid boundary layer.
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Abstract
The lift and drag performance of all vehicles is strongly influenced by viscous effects, and in turn, laminar separation bubbles. This application employs an effective fluid boundary layer control strategy that reduces parasitic drag, allows for more usable angles of attack, and delays or stops separation. In the approach of this application, the control surface effectively uses the Magnus effect to delay or stop a separation bubble from forming, which can increase lift, reduce drag, and delay degrees of stall by directly manipulating the velocity gradient in the fluid boundary layer.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus adapted to control flow of a fluid boundary layer, comprising:
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an aircraft wing housing, having a chord length, a leading edge and a trailing edge; at least one bearing element, disposed on an interior portion of the aircraft wing housing, disposed between a first endplate and a second endplate, substantially parallel to the chord length of the aircraft wing housing; at least one rod member, adapted to fit into the at least one bearing element, extending substantially perpendicular to the chord length of the aircraft wing housing, and; a rotational belt, disposed on an outer surface of the aircraft wing housing, having an inner surface comprising a first coefficient of friction and an outer surface comprising a second coefficient of friction, wherein the inner surface is operationally coupled to the at least one rod member and the outer surface of the rotational belt is in mechanical contact with the fluid boundary layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of controlling a fluid velocity at a fluid boundary layer of a plane on a surface of a housing, comprising the steps of:
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determining an initial fluid velocity at the fluid boundary layer of the plane; providing at least one bearing element, operatively coupled to at least one rod member, disposed on an interior portion of the housing; providing a rotational belt, operatively coupled to the at least one rod member; providing a power source, mechanically coupled to the at least one rod member, wherein the power source operates to deliver a rotational force to the at least one rod member; and rotating the rotational belt at a control velocity.
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9. An apparatus for controlling a fluid boundary layer of at least a portion of a vehicle body surface, comprising:
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a vehicle body surface housing; at least one bearing element, disposed on an interior portion of the vehicle body surface housing, disposed between a first endplate and a second endplate; at least one rod member, adapted to fit into the at least one bearing element; and a rotational belt, disposed on an outer surface of the vehicle body surface housing, having an inner surface comprising a first coefficient of friction and an outer surface comprising a second coefficient of friction, wherein the inner surface is operationally coupled to the at least one rod member and the outer surface of the rotational belt is in mechanical contact with the fluid boundary layer. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for controlling at least one of a thermal property or an acoustic property at a fluid boundary layer of at least a portion of a vehicle body surface, comprising:
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a vehicle body surface housing; at least one bearing element, disposed on an interior portion of the vehicle body surface housing, disposed between a first endplate and a second endplate; at least one rod member, adapted to fit into the at least one bearing element; a rotational belt, disposed on an outer surface of the vehicle body surface housing, having an inner surface comprising a first coefficient of friction and an outer surface comprising a second coefficient of friction, wherein the inner surface is operationally coupled to the at least one rod member and the outer surface of the rotational belt is in mechanical contact with the fluid boundary layer; and at least one of; a thermal sensor, operatively coupled to the vehicle body surface housing, adapted to detect at least one thermal property of the vehicle body surface housing, or an acoustic sensor, operatively coupled to the vehicle body surface housing, adapted to detect at least one acoustic property of the vehicle body surface housing. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification