Aircraft with wings and a system for minimizing the influence of unsteady flow states

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9656740-B2
Application number	US-201313734522-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2013
Priority date	Jul 6, 2010
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

An aircraft and system for minimizing the influence of unsteady flow states, wherein the wing has a respective main wing and at least one control flap adjustably arranged relative thereto, an adjusting drive for activating the at least one control flap, and a sensor arrangement for acquiring the setting position of the control flap. The system exhibits at least one arrangement of flow-influencing devices for influencing the fluid flow over the surface segment, a detection device for detecting unsteady flow states acting on the aircraft, and an actuating function connected with the flow-influencing devices to influence the flow in the different segments of a wing, designed so that the latter, based on the unsteady flow states detected by the detection device and setting position of the control flap acquired by the sensor arrangement, actuates the flow-influencing devices so as to minimize the influence of unsteady flow states on the aircraft.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An aircraft comprising:
wings, wherein each wing comprises:
a respective main wing,
at least one control flap adjustably arranged relative to the respective main wing,
an adjusting drive that activates the at least one control flap, and
a sensor arrangement configured to acquire a setting position of the at least one control flap,

a system that minimizes an influence of unsteady flow states;
a presetting device that generates desired parameters corresponding to flight states of the aircraft;
a flight state sensor arrangement configured to generate flight state data; and
a flight control device, which is functionally connected with the flight state sensor arrangement, the presetting device, the adjusting drive, and the sensor arrangement, and that acquires the setting position of the at least one control flap, so as to adjust the aircraft to the flight states corresponding to the desired parameters;
wherein the system that minimizes the influence of the unsteady flow states comprises:
at least one arrangement of flow-influencing devices functionally connected with the flight control device and incorporated in at least one surface segment of each main wing of each wing extending in a respective wingspan direction or the at least one control flap, and
a detection device for detecting unsteady flow states acting on the aircraft, wherein the detection device is functionally connected with the flight control device,

wherein the flight control device is programmed with an actuating function that influences the flow in the at least one segment of each main wing or the at least one control flap of each wing, the flight control device being designed in such a way that the flight control device programmed with the actuating function, based on the unsteady flow states detected by the detection device and setting position of the at least one control flap acquired by the sensor arrangement, actuates the flow-influencing devices so as to minimize the influence of the unsteady free flow states on the aircraft.

2. An aircraft comprising
wings, each of which comprises:
a respective main wing,
at least one control flap adjustably arranged relative to the respective main wing,
an adjusting drive that activates the at least one control flap,
a sensor arrangement configured to acquire a setting position of the at least one control flap, and
at least one trailing edge flap;

a system that minimizes an influence of unsteady flow states;
a presetting device that generates desired parameters corresponding to flight states of the aircraft;
a flight state sensor arrangement configured to generate flight state data; and
a flight control device, which is functionally connected with the flight state sensor arrangement, the presetting device, the adjusting drive, and the sensor arrangement, and that acquires the setting position of the at least one control flap, so as to set the aircraft to the flight states corresponding to the desired parameters;
wherein the system that minimizes the influence of the unsteady flow states comprises:
at least one arrangement of flow-influencing devices functionally connected with the flight control device and incorporated in at least one surface segment of each of the at least one trailing edge flap of each wing extending in a respective wingspan direction that influence fluid flow over the at least one surface segment, and
a detection device that detects the unsteady flow states acting on the aircraft, wherein the detection device is functionally connected with the flight control device,
wherein the flight control device is programmed with an actuating function that influences the flow in the at least one surface segment of each of the at least one trailing edge flap of each wing, the flight control device being designed in such a way that the flight control device programmed with the actuating function, based on the unsteady flow states detected by the detection device and setting position of the at least one control flap acquired by the sensor arrangement, actuates the flow-influencing devices so as to minimize the influence of the unsteady flow states on the aircraft.

3. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the system for minimizing the influence of the unsteady flow states comprises:
at least one arrangement of the flow-influencing devices for influencing the fluid flow over at least one surface segment of the main wing, which are functionally connected with the flight control device, and incorporated in the at least one surface segment of the main wing of each of the wings extending in the respective wingspan direction or the at least one control flap;
wherein the flight control device is programmed with an actuating function that influences the fluid flow in the at least one surface segment of the main wing, the flight control device being designed in such a way that the flight control device programmed with the actuating function, based on the unsteady flow states detected by the detection device and setting position of the control flap acquired by the sensor arrangement, actuates the flow-influencing devices so as to minimize the influence of the unsteady free flow states on the aircraft.

4. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the flight control device programmed with the actuating function is configured so that commands for the flow-influencing devices are taken into account with respect to controlling the aircraft according to the commands for the at least one control flap.

5. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein at least one surface segment of the main wing of each wing extending at least in the respective wingspan direction incorporates an arrangement of flow-influencing devices for influencing the fluid flow over the at least one surface segment of the main wing and at least one flow state sensor arrangement configured to measure the flow state in the respective surface segment, which is functionally connected with the actuating device, wherein the actuating device for each segment determines actual values for the flow state in the respective segment from the flow state sensor arrangement respectively accompanying the latter, and actuates the flow-influencing devices in such a way that the desired values ascertained by the actuating device are desired for minimizing the influence of unsteady free flow states.

6. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein the detection device for detecting unsteady flow states acting on the aircraft is functionally connected with the flight state sensor arrangement and the detection device is programmed with a filter function that performs a function used to identify unsteady flow states; and the detection device is programmed with the actuating function for influencing the fluid flow in the at least one surface segment of the at least one trailing edge flap of the wing that is designed to use the identified unsteady flow states to actuate the flow-influencing devices in such a way as to influence the flow of the fluid flowing over the surface segment to reduce the effects of the unsteady free flow states on the aircraft.

7. The aircraft according to claim 2 , wherein:
the detection device for detecting unsteady flow states acting on the aircraft is functionally connected with the flow state sensor arrangement;
the detection device is programmed with a filter function that performs a function used to identify unsteady flow states; and
the detection device is programmed with the actuating function for influencing the flow in the different segments of a wing that is designed to use the identified unsteady flow states to actuate the flow-influencing devices in such a way as to influence the flow of the fluid flowing over the surface segment to red

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Gölling Burkhard

Classifications

• B64C2230/04

  by actively generating fluid flow · CPC title

• B64C21/04

  for blowing · CPC title

• B64C13/16 Primary

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

• B64C21/08 Primary

  adjustable · CPC title

• Y02T50/166

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic