Described herein is an aircraft. The aircraft comprises a body. The aircraft also comprises a wing coupled to and extending from the body. The wing comprises a wing inboard end portion, a wing outboard end portion, opposite the wing inboard end portion, and an intermediate portion between the wing inboard end portion and the wing outboard end portion. The aircraft further comprises a strut. The strut comprises a strut inboard end portion coupled to and extending from the body and a strut outboard end portion coupled to and extending from the intermediate portion of the wing. The aircraft additionally comprises at least one aerodynamic control surface movably coupled to the strut.

Described herein is an aircraft. The aircraft comprises a body. The aircraft also comprises a wing coupled to and extending from the body. The wing comprises a wing inboard end portion, a wing outboard end portion, opposite the wing inboard end portion, and an intermediate portion between the wing inboard end portion and the wing outboard end portion. The aircraft further comprises a strut. The strut comprises a strut inboard end portion coupled to and extending from the body and a strut outboard end portion coupled to and extending from the intermediate portion of the wing. The aircraft additionally comprises at least one aerodynamic control surface movably coupled to the strut.

An aircraft portion includes a fuselage oriented in a longitudinal direction, an airfoil made up of at least one pair of wings arranged on either side of the fuselage in a transverse direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and an airfoil-fuselage junction fairing at the interface between the airfoil and the fuselage. The junction fairing has, in a vertical plane, a lower profile and, in a horizontal plane, a horizontal profile at the junction of the outer surface of the junction fairing with the convex side of each wing. The horizontal profile and/or the lower profile successively has, in the longitudinal direction, a convex front segment, a concave intermediate segment, and a convex rear segment.

The present invention relates to an ice detection/protection and flow control system based on printing of dielectric barrier discharge sliding plasma actuators. This invention has advantages such as: reduced weight, low maintenance cost, no environmental impact, fully electric operation and combination of functionalities (ice detection, deicing, anti-icing and flow control).

The system comprises the following components: exposed AC electrode (1), dielectric layer (2), embedded electrode (3), sliding/nanosecond electrode (4), ground plane (5), AC power supply (6), DC power supply (7), nanosecond range pulse generator (8), monitoring capacitor (9), high voltage probe (10), control module (11), temperature sensor (12), control signal input module (13) and monitoring system (14). The system senses ice formation and generates extensive surface heating to prevent ice accumulation.

The present invention relates to an ice detection/protection and flow control system based on printing of dielectric barrier discharge sliding plasma actuators. This invention has advantages such as: reduced weight, low maintenance cost, no environmental impact, fully electric operation and combination of functionalities (ice detection, deicing, anti-icing and flow control).

The system comprises the following components: exposed AC electrode (1), dielectric layer (2), embedded electrode (3), sliding/nanosecond electrode (4), ground plane (5), AC power supply (6), DC power supply (7), nanosecond range pulse generator (8), monitoring capacitor (9), high voltage probe (10), control module (11), temperature sensor (12), control signal input module (13) and monitoring system (14). The system senses ice formation and generates extensive surface heating to prevent ice accumulation.

A flight vehicle engine includes an isolator with a swept-back wedge to improve flow mixing. The wedge includes forward shock-anchoring locations, such as edges or rapidly-curved portions, that anchor oblique shocks in situations where the isolator has sufficient back pressure. The swept-back wedge may also create swept oblique shocks along its length. Boundary layer flow streamlines are diverted running parallel to or parallel but moving outward conically to the swept-wedge leading edge moving outboard and upward. The non-viscous flow outside the boundary layer is processed through the swept-back ramp shock and diverted outboard and upward as well. The outboard aft portion of the wedge at the sidewall intersection may also induce shocks and divert flow near the walls closer toward the walls and upward, and/or improve flow mixing.

Avionic display systems and methods are provided for generating avionic displays including symbology decreasing the likelihood of boom tolerance threshold exceedance (an overpressure events) due to potential constructive interference between pressure waves occurring during supersonic flight. In various embodiments, the avionic display system includes a display device on which an avionic display is generated. A controller architecture is operably coupled to the display device and configured to determine when there exists a possibility for an overpressure event to occur in a future timeframe due to constructive interference between colliding pressure waves, which are forecast to occur during the impending supersonic flight of one or more A/C. When determining that there exists a possibility for an overpressure event to occur in the future timeframe due to constructive interference between pressure waves, the controller architecture further generates symbology or other graphics on the avionic display indicative of the potential occurrence of the overpressure event.

[Object] To realize an improvement in design accuracy and a reduction in design time in a process of matching an equivalent cross-sectional area of a design shape of a supersonic aircraft to a target equivalent cross-sectional area in a sonic boom reduction method based on an equivalent cross-sectional area. [Solving Means] The technique includes: setting an initial shape of the airframe and a target equivalent cross-sectional area of the airframe; estimating a near field pressure waveform for the initial shape of the airframe assuming that the supersonic aircraft flies at a cruising speed; evaluating an equivalent cross-sectional area from the estimated near field pressure waveform for the initial shape of the airframe; and setting a Mach plane corresponding to the cruising speed, and setting a design curve on the Mach plane, the design curve corresponding to an initial curve at which the initial shape of the airframe and the Mach plane intersect so that the equivalent cross-sectional area approaches the target equivalent cross-sectional area. Then, the shape of the airframe is designed based on the design curve.

[Object] To realize an improvement in design accuracy and a reduction in design time in a process of matching an equivalent cross-sectional area of a design shape of a supersonic aircraft to a target equivalent cross-sectional area in a sonic boom reduction method based on an equivalent cross-sectional area. [Solving Means] The technique includes: setting an initial shape of the airframe and a target equivalent cross-sectional area of the airframe; estimating a near field pressure waveform for the initial shape of the airframe assuming that the supersonic aircraft flies at a cruising speed; evaluating an equivalent cross-sectional area from the estimated near field pressure waveform for the initial shape of the airframe; and setting a Mach plane corresponding to the cruising speed, and setting a design curve on the Mach plane, the design curve corresponding to an initial curve at which the initial shape of the airframe and the Mach plane intersect so that the equivalent cross-sectional area approaches the target equivalent cross-sectional area. Then, the shape of the airframe is designed based on the design curve.

A flight vehicle has an engine that includes air inlet, an isolator (or diffuser) downstream of the air inlet, and a combustor downstream of the isolator. The isolator includes a bulged region that has at least one dimension, perpendicular to the direction of the air flow from the inlet to the combustor, that is at a local maximum, larger than comparable isolator dimensions both upstream and downstream of the bulged region. The bulged region stabilizes shocks within the isolator, and facilitates flow mixing. The flow diversion of high energy flow around the outermost walls of the bulged section into the center of the flow at the aft end of the isolator, increases mixing of the flow, and results in a more consistent flow profile entering the combustor over a wide range of flight conditions (Mach, altitude, angle-of-attack, yaw) and throttle settings.