Methods and apparatus for mitigating aerodynamic flutter of aircraft wing flaps

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11142301-B2
Application number	US-201916552472-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2019
Priority date	Aug 27, 2019
Publication date	Oct 12, 2021
Grant date	Oct 12, 2021

Abstract

Example methods and apparatus for mitigating aerodynamic flutter of aircraft wing flaps are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a fairing, an actuator, and a damper. The fairing is located on a bottom side of a wing of an aircraft. The actuator is disposed in the fairing. The actuator is coupled to and extends between the wing and a flap of the wing. The damper is disposed in the fairing. The damper is coupled to and extends between the fixed wing and the moveable flap.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
a fairing located on a bottom side of a wing of an aircraft;
an actuator disposed in the fairing, the actuator coupled to and extending between the wing and a flap of the wing;
a damper disposed in the fairing, the damper coupled to and extending between the wing and the flap, the damper including:
a piston rod having a first end, a second end located opposite the first end, and a rod head located between the first end and the second end, the rod head having a first side and a second side located opposite the first side;
a cylinder having a fluid chamber containing the rod head, the rod head separating the fluid chamber into a first portion including the first side of the rod head and a second portion including the second side of the rod head;
a first fluid supply line in fluid communication with the first portion of the fluid chamber;
a second fluid supply line in fluid communication with the second portion of the fluid chamber, the first and second fluid supply lines respectively configured to receive pressurized hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic system of the aircraft;
a damping orifice operatively positioned between and in fluid communication with the first and second fluid supply lines;
a first pressure transducer in fluid communication with the first fluid supply line, the first pressure transducer configured to monitor a first hydraulic pressure associated with the first portion of the fluid chamber; and
a second pressure transducer in fluid communication with the second fluid supply line, the second pressure transducer configured to monitor a second hydraulic pressure associated with the second portion of the fluid chamber.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the rod head is movable along a longitudinal axis of the cylinder to provide a damping force to the flap, the rod head configured to move along the longitudinal axis based on pressurized hydraulic fluid to be supplied to the first portion of the fluid chamber via the first fluid supply line or to the second portion of the fluid chamber via the second fluid supply line.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the damper is configured to produce a damping force having a magnitude that is based on a size of the damping orifice.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the damper further includes a filter valve operatively positioned between and in fluid communication with the hydraulic system of the aircraft and respective ones of the first and second fluid supply lines, the filter valve configured to filter the pressurized hydraulic fluid provided by the hydraulic system of the aircraft to the first and second fluid supply lines.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the damper is configured to be in a passive mode when the actuator is moving the flap, and wherein the damper is configured to be in an active mode in response to a failure of the actuator.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the damper further includes a load relief valve configured to relieve pressure from the fluid chamber of the damper.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising wherein the damper further includes:
a first anti-cavitation valve operatively positioned between and in fluid communication with the hydraulic system of the aircraft and the first fluid supply line, the first anti-cavitation valve configured to mitigate cavitation while the pressurized hydraulic fluid is being supplied to the first fluid supply line; and
a second anti-cavitation valve operatively positioned between and in fluid communication with the hydraulic system of the aircraft and the second fluid supply line, the second anti-cavitation valve configured to mitigate cavitation while the pressurized hydraulic fluid is being supplied to the second fluid supply line.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first end of the piston rod is coupled to the wing, and the second end of the piston rod is coupled to the flap.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first end of the piston rod is coupled to the wing proximate a fixed portion of the actuator, and the second end of the piston rod is coupled to the flap proximate a movable portion of the actuator.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is configured to move the flap between a retracted position and a deployed position relative to a fixed trailing edge of the wing, and the damper is configured to damp movement of the flap to mitigate aerodynamic flutter of the flap.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the damper is configured to mitigate aerodynamic flutter of the flap in response to a failure of the actuator.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the damper is configured to mitigate aerodynamic flutter of the flap when the flap is in the retracted position.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a flight control electronics unit (FCEU) operatively coupled to the first and second pressure transducers, the FCEU configured to determine an operational status of the damper based on pressure data obtained from the first and second pressure transducers.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the FCEU is configured to:
determine an absolute value of the difference between the first hydraulic pressure and the second hydraulic pressure;
compare the absolute value of the difference to a threshold; and
in response to the absolute value of the difference being greater than the threshold, generate a message indicating that inspection of the damper is required.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the operational status of the damper indicates that the damper is operating normally, that the damper has malfunctioned, or that the damper is actively mitigating aerodynamic flutter.

16. A method, comprising:
moving a flap of a wing of an aircraft relative to a fixed portion of the wing between a retracted position and a deployed position, the flap being moved via an actuator coupled to and extending between the fixed portion and the flap, the actuator disposed in a fairing located on a bottom side of the wing and extending between the fixed portion and the flap; and
damping movement of the flap to mitigate aerodynamic flutter of the flap, the movement of the flap being damped via a damper coupled to and extending between the fixed portion and the flap, the damper disposed in the fairing, the damper including:
a piston rod having a first end, a second end located opposite the first end, and a rod head located between the first end and the second end, the rod head having a first side and a second side located opposite the first side;
a cylinder having a fluid chamber containing the rod head, the rod head separating the fluid chamber into a first portion including the first side of the rod head and a second portion including the second side of the rod head;
a first fluid supply line in fluid communication with the first portion of the fluid chamber;

a second fluid supply line in fluid communication with the second portion of the fluid chamber, the first and second fluid supply lines respectively configured to receive pressurized hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic system of the aircraft;
a damping orifice operatively positioned between and in fluid communication with the first and second fluid supply lines;
a first pressure transducer in fluid communication with the first fluid supply line, the first pressure transducer configured to monitor a first hydraulic pressure associated with the first portion of the fluid chamber; and
a second pressure transducer in fluid communication with the second fluid supply line, the second pressure transducer configured

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Good Mark S
• Nguyen Rene T
• Dempster Gregor W
• Gruner Bryan J
• Bae Kwan-Ho
• Fahey Patrick M

Classifications

• Y02T50/30

  Wing lift efficiency · CPC title

• B64C9/04

  with compound dependent movements · CPC title

• B64C13/16

  actuated automatically, e.g. responsive to gust detectors · CPC title

• B64C13/44 Primary

  overriding of personal controls; with automatic return to inoperative position · CPC title

• B64C3/38

  Adjustment of complete wings or parts thereof · CPC title