VARIABLE AND ADAPTABLE DIVERTERLESS BUMP INLET

Abstract

A device for a variable and adaptable diverterless bump engine inlet of an aircraft comprises a flexible inlet, a mechanism to change the shape of the flexible inlet, and a processing unit to control the mechanism. The flexible inlet of the device includes a plurality of edges attached partly to a fuselage skin and partly to an engine inlet duct. With this device, the shape of the flexible inlet can be controlled according to the flight conditions, and hence the engine air intake will perform more efficient at all speeds while fulfilling requirements for less radar visibility.

Claims

1. An engine inlet of an aircraft comprising; a flexible inlet, wherein the flexible inlet is formed of a deformable material; the flexible inlet comprising an outer surface, an inner surface, and plurality of edges; the plurality of edges being attached at least partly to a fuselage skin of the aircraft and at least partly to an engine air intake duct of the aircraft; at least one mechanism, the mechanism being configured to change at least a shape of the flexible inlet; and a processing unit, the processing unit being configured to control the mechanism.

2. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 1, wherein at least one of a flexibility and a strength of the deformable material of the flexible inlet is determined based on a shape of the flexible inlet.

3. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 2, wherein the deformable material of the flexible inlet comprises at least two sections comprising the same or different flexibility and strength.

4. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 1, wherein the flexible inlet is attached to the fuselage skin and engine air intake duct such that the outer surface of the flexible inlet is continuous with at least a surface of the fuselage skin of the aircraft and at least a surface of the engine air intake duct of the aircraft.

5. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 1, wherein the mechanism comprises at least one head, the head being in contact with the inner surface of the flexible inlet; at least one arm, the arm further comprising at least a first end and a second end, the first end of the arm being connected pivotally to the head of the mechanism; at least one positioning system, the positioning system further including at least one control joint and a base; the base of the positioning system being fixed to at least a structure of the aircraft; the control joint of the positioning system being connected to the second end of the arm; the control joint being configured to receive a signal from the processing unit, the signal from the processing unit being a required position of the arm.

6. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 5, wherein the control joint of the positioning system is configured to control the arm of the mechanism by moving the arm along at least one of a longitudinal, lateral, and vertical axis of the arm.

7. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 5, wherein the control joint of the positioning system is configured to control the arm of the mechanism by rotating the arm along at least one of a longitudinal, lateral, and vertical axis of the arm.

8. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 1, wherein the mechanism comprises: at least one bladder; at least one control joint; the control joint being configured to receive a signal from the processing unit, wherein the signal from the processing unit is a required pressure of the bladder; the control joint being configured to change a pressure of the bladder to a required pressure of the bladder.

9. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 5, wherein the mechanism comprises: at least one bladder; at least one control joint; the control joint being configured to receive a signal from the processing unit, wherein the signal from the processing unit is a required pressure of the bladder; the control joint being configured to change a pressure of the bladder to a required pressure of the bladder, and wherein the processing unit is configured to receive plurality of flight parameters of the aircraft; the processing unit is configured to receive at least an information from a database, the information from the database comprising at least a flight condition, and at least one of a position of the arm of the mechanism and a pressure of the bladder; the processing unit is configured to compare the information from the database against the received flight parameters and identify at least one of the required position of the arm of the mechanism and the required pressure of the bladder; the processing unit is configured to control the control joint.

10. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 9, wherein the position of the arm is determined based on a shape of the flexible inlet.

11. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 1, wherein the shape of the flexible inlet is based on at least one of a fluid dynamic simulation result during a design of the aircraft.

12. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 11, wherein the fluid dynamic simulation includes at least one of numerical, computational, and experimental fluid dynamic simulation.

13. The engine inlet of the aircraft of claim 12, wherein the fluid dynamic simulation is performed for all flight conditions defined in a design mission profile and a design flight envelope of the aircraft.

14. A method for variable and adaptable engine inlet of an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of: receiving plurality of flight parameters of an aircraft; comparing a database for the received flight parameters of the aircraft for a position of an arm of a mechanism; the database comprising a plurality of flight conditions and at least a corresponding position of the arm of the mechanism; the plurality of flight parameters including at least a flight conditions defined in a design mission profile and a design flight envelope of the aircraft; controlling the position of the arm of the mechanism to a position similar to the position of the arm of the mechanism in the database corresponding to the received flight parameters of the aircraft.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number can identify the drawing in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers can be used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components. In the following description, various embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0044] FIG. 1 shows schematically an aircraft with engine inlet;

[0045] FIG. 2 shows schematically an embodiment of an engine inlet;

[0046] FIG. 3 shows schematically the mechanism of first embodiment;

[0047] FIG. 4 shows schematically the mechanism with two arms, each controlled by two different control joints;

[0048] FIG. 5 shows schematically the mechanism with two arms, each controlled by single control joint;

[0049] FIG. 6 shows schematically a flowchart of operation of processing unit; and

[0050] FIG. 7 shows schematically the mechanism of second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific details and embodiments in which the invention may be practiced.

[0052] The word exemplary is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as exemplary is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs.

[0053] FIG. 1 shows schematically an exemplary aircraft 100 with an engine inlet 110 and 110. FIG. 1 also schematically shows a flexible inlet 120 and 120 being part of the engine inlet 110 and 110 respectively. The engine inlet 110 placed along the surface of the fuselage to provide air for the engine of the aircraft 100. The engine inlet 110 is a diverterless inlet. The flexible inlet 120 schematically shown in FIG. 1 is a section of the engine inlet 110 formed of flexible material capable of changing its shape through one or many of the embodiments described in this application. The engine inlet 110 and flexible inlet 120 are similar to the engine inlet 110 and flexible inlet 120 described earlier, but placed on other side of the aircraft 100.

[0054] FIG. 2 shows schematically an embodiment of an engine inlet 110. The engine inlet 110 comprises a flexible inlet 120 formed of a deformable material. The flexible inlet 120 further comprises an outer surface 211, an inner surface 212, and plurality of edges 213. The outer surface 211 can be understood in the present disclosure as the surface of the flexible inlet 120 exposed to the free stream of air during flight. The inner surface 212 can be understood as the other surface of the flexible inlet 120. The plurality of edges 213 defines the planform shape of the flexible inlet and is partly attached to a fuselage skin 240 and partly attached to an engine air intake duct 250. The flexible inlet 120 is attached to the fuselage skin 240 and engine air intake duct 250 such that the outer surface 211 is continuous with at least a surface of the fuselage skin 240 of the aircraft 100 and at least a surface of the engine air intake duct 250. The engine inlet 110 of FIG. 1, the engine inlet 110 comprises a mechanism 220 to change the shape of the flexible inlet 120. The engine inlet 110 comprises a processing unit 230 to control the mechanism 220. The processing unit 230 is connected to the mechanism 220 to control, wherein the connection means can be wired or wireless (not shown) to transfer the control signal from the processing unit 230 to the mechanism 220.

[0055] FIG. 3 shows schematically the exemplary mechanism 220. The mechanism 220 comprises a head 310, an arm 320, and a positioning system 330. The head 310 is in contact with an inner surface 212 of a flexible inlet 120. In order to have smooth contact with the flexible inlet 120 and not to damage the inner surface 212 of the flexible inlet 120 while changing the shape of the flexible inlet 120, the head 310 is usually curved with a smooth surface. Further the shape of the head 310 can also be decided based on the required shapes of the flexible inlet 120 to be achieved during various flight conditions of the aircraft 100. The arm 320 of the mechanism 220 comprises a first end 321 and a second end 322. The first end 321 is connected to the head 310 by a connection 323. The connection 323 of the first end 321 to the head 310 is on the side of head 310 substantially opposite to the side of the head 310 in contact with the inner surface 212 of the flexible inlet 120. Further the connection 323 may not be rigid, but it can be a pivot to enable the head 310 to move freely about the connection 323 but still being connected to the arm 320. The second end 322 of the arm 320 is connected to the positioning system 330 as described in further embodiment. The positioning system 330 of the mechanism 220 includes a control joint 331 and a base 332. The base 332 of the positioning system 330 serves to fix the positioning system 330 and hence the mechanism 220 to one or many of a structure 340 of an aircraft. The control joint 331 of the positioning system 330 is connected to the second end 322 of the arm 320. The control joint 331 is further configured to receive commands from the processing unit 230 and moves the arm 320 accordingly. The control joint 331 of the positioning system 330 is configured to control the arm 320 of the mechanism 220 for example by moving the arm 320 along at least one of a longitudinal, lateral, and vertical axis of the arm 320. The vertical axis of the arm 320 can be the axis along the length of the arm 320. The longitudinal and lateral axes of the arm 320 in such case will be the other two perpendicular axes on the plane perpendicular to the vertical axis of the arm 320. The arm 320 can be moved along its vertical axis by the control joint 331 by designing the arm 320 to be telescopic in nature. The control joint 331 of the positioning system 330 is further configured to control the arm 320 of the mechanism 220 for example by rotating the arm 320 along at least one of a longitudinal, lateral, and vertical axis of the arm 320. The definition of the axis can be understood from the earlier description. Further it has to be understood that in practice the control joint 331 may need not to be controlled by moving and rotating the arm 320 along or about all lateral, longitudinal and vertical axes. It might be sufficient for the control joint 331 to control the arm 320 in just one or few of the six degrees of freedom of the arm 320 to achieve the required shape of the flexible inlet 120.

[0056] FIG. 4 shows schematically a further embodiment of an exemplary mechanism 420. In this embodiment the mechanism 420 is similar to the mechanism 220 shown in FIG. 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 the positioning system 430 of the mechanism 420 includes two control joints 431 and 431 on a common base 432. Each control joint 431 and 431 is connected to two separate arms 421 and 421. Further, each arm 421 and 421 is connected to two different heads 410 and 410. The purpose, design, and mechanism, where applicable, of the base 432, control joints 431 and 431, arms 421 and 421, and heads 410 and 410 can be understood to be similar to the base 332, control joint 331, arm 320, and head 310 as described earlier in connection with FIG. 3. Further it has to be understood that though the illustration shows only two arms 421 and 421 and associated components, but in practice there can be more than 2 arms and associated components.

[0057] FIG. 5 shows schematically a further embodiment of an exemplary mechanism 520. In this embodiment, the mechanism 520 is similar to the mechanism 420 shown in FIG. 4. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 the positioning system 530 includes only one control joint 531 on a base 532, controlling two arms 521 and 521 of the mechanism 520. The two arms 521 and 521 are separately connected to two heads 510 and 510 to change the shape of the flexible inlet 120. Further it has to be understood that though the illustrations show only two arms 521 and 521 being controlled by the control joint 531, in practice, there can be more than two arms being controlled by the control joint 531.

[0058] FIG. 6 shows schematically a flowchart of the operation of the processing unit 230. The processing unit 230 is configured to receive as input parameters a plurality of flight parameters 610 of an aircraft. The flight parameters 610 include, but are not limited to parameters like speed, altitude, ambient temperature, ambient pressure, ambient density of the aircraft 100. Alternatively, it can be understood that the processing unit 230 receives all necessary parameters from the aircraft 100 to calculate the dynamic pressure and Reynolds number corresponding to the flight condition of the aircraft 100. The processing unit 230 is further configured to receive further as input parameters an information from a database 620. The information available in the database 620 includes at least a flight parameter 621 and corresponding position 622 of one or more arms 320 of the mechanism 220. Further, the data from the database 620 for the received flight parameters 621 are compared and a required position 640 of the arm 320 of the mechanism 220 is identified in process step 630. In step 650 the control joint 331 of the positioning system 330 is controlled to move the arm 320 of the mechanism 220 to attain the required position 640. The control in step 650 could be sending appropriate signals to the control joint 331 such that the control joint 331 will move the arm 320 accordingly. The signal could be one of or combination of an electric signal, or a hydraulic pressure, or a pneumatic pressure depending upon the system used in the control joint 330.

[0059] FIG. 7 shows schematically an embodiment of an exemplary engine inlet 710 with a pressure based mechanism 720. In this illustration, the mechanism 720 includes a bladder 721 and a control joint 722 to control the shape of the flexible inlet 120. Upon receiving signal from the processing unit 230, the control joint 722 controls the pressure inside the bladder 721 to change the shape of the flexible inlet 120. The control joint 722 is further configured to move the bladder 721 in a plane substantially parallel to the planform of the flexible inlet 120. Alternatively, the device can be designed in such a way that part of the bladder 721 can be the flexible inlet 120.

[0060] While at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the terms comprise or comprising do not exclude other elements or steps, the terms a or one do not exclude a plural number, and the term or means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.