Abstract

A wingtip device comprising a tube with internal waveguide surfaces and a means for vortices collection, affixed to a wing or air foil to capture wingtip vortices and convert them to smooth, laminar flow thereby eliminating the effects of vortical drag on the aircraft. As vortices occur 5around a wingtip, they are channeled or otherwise directed towards the inlet end of the device, through the waveguide tube which consists of a series of waveguides, and out the exit end as laminar flow, resulting in thrust.

IPC Classes  ?

• B64C 23/06 - Influencing air flow over aircraft surfaces, not otherwise provided for by generating vortices
• B64C 5/08 - Stabilising surfaces mounted on, or supported by, wings

Abstract

Waveguide or flow guide surfaces can improve the efficiency of fluid flow through tubes or over surfaces. When incorporated in a tube, the waveguides improve flow and function as sound absorbers making them useful in engine mufflers, firearm silencer/suppressors and jet engine exhaust attenuators. On surfaces, the waveguides can reduce fluid drag and find use on projectiles (e.g., bullets), airfoils for aircraft, and land borne vehicles. The waveguide array in either a tubular chamber or on a surface comprises a plurality of successive wavelike undulations inclined generally in the direction of flow and when employed in tubes extending inwardly to permit an unobstructed path for the fluid gas from entry to exit. The waves define annular wave cavities between their successive inwardly extending edges and the wall of the chamber with each cavity having a cavity mouth open to the unobstructed path. The waveguides are sized and spaced so that gas vortices are created within the cavities when gas flow occurs which vortices create a fluid boundary layer that assists the gas flow.

IPC Classes  ?

• F15D 1/06 - Influencing the flow of fluids in pipes or conduits by influencing the boundary layer
• F15D 1/12 - Influencing the flow of fluids around bodies of solid material by influencing the boundary layer
• F01N 1/02 - Silencing apparatus characterised by method of silencing by using resonance
• F01N 1/12 - Silencing apparatus characterised by method of silencing by reducing exhaust energy by throttling or whirling using spirally- or helically-shaped channels
• F16L 55/033 - Noise absorbers
• F02M 35/12 - Intake silencers
• G10K 11/16 - Methods or devices for protecting against, or for damping, noise or other acoustic waves in general
• B64C 21/02 - Influencing air flow over aircraft surfaces by affecting boundary layer flow by use of slot, ducts, porous areas or the like
• B62D 37/02 - Stabilising vehicle bodies without controlling suspension arrangements by aerodynamic means