Lockheed Martin Corporation

Kerry B Ginn

Daniel N Miller

Patrick J Yagle

Brent N McCallum

Jeffrey W Hamstra

David M Wells

Stewart A Jenkins

Brian R Smith

Rob S Burgun

Erich E Bender

Dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators are used to manipulate exhaust flow within and behind a jet engine nozzle. The dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators may be used to direct cooling airflow near the surface of the nozzle to reduce heating of the nozzle, create thrust vectoring, and reduce noise associated with the exhaust flow exiting the nozzle.

Nozzle plasma flow control utilizing dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators

A pulsed-jet active flowfield control actuation system enhances the rate of heat transfer and heat removal in a heat exchanger for better management of thermal loads. The pulsed jet actuators impart an unsteady component of velocity to the working fluid of the heat exchanger. This design increases the convective heat transfer, and avoids increases in heat exchanger volume and weight for a given performance value.

System, method, and apparatus for pulsed-jet-enhanced heat exchanger

A vectoring nozzle with external actuation generates thrust vectoring by applying mechanical or fluidic actuation, or both, on the nozzle deck, external sidewalls, and/or air vehicle aft body to produce changes in the aft body flowfield and/or exhaust plume. An external mechanical sidewall may be integrated into a nozzle deck or side walls without the need for engine bleed to supply fluid injectors. An external fluidic vectoring system uses injectors or plasma devices located aft of the nozzle exit to vector the exhaust plume with no external moving parts. Elements of both mechanical and fluidic systems may be combined for a given application.

System and apparatus for vectoring nozzle exhaust plume from a nozzle

A non-invasive system, method, and apparatus for control input prediction and state verification of an aircraft's fluidic vectoring exhaust is disclosed. The control system derives a desired vector state, then predicts and sets the fluidic injection input required to produce the desired vector state. A vectored state verification routine is used to determine the resulting vector state for feedback to the control system.

System, method, and apparatus for control input prediction and state verification of fluidic vectoring exhaust in high performance aircraft

The present invention reveals a method and apparatus for controlling the effective area and thrust vector angle of a fluid flow. In one embodiment, the fluid flow is controlled in an advanced, high aspect ratio, complex aperture geometry nozzle using asymmetric injection into the subsonic portion of the fluid flow. The present invention vectors the primary flow by partially blocking the flow with an opposed flow across the flow field. A fluidic flow field is defined in a flow container that directs a pressurized, primary fluidic flow from the container towards an exit of the container. A nozzle may cooperate with the exit of the flow container to control the fluidic flow as it exits the flow container. One or more injectors associated with the container are proximate to the effect throat of the primary flow while other are located downstream of to introduce an opposing fluidic flow that interacts with the primary fluidic flow. A controller associated with the injectors directs the injectors to provide the opposing flow as needed to achieve a desired partial blockage of the primary flow, thereby vectoring the primary flow.

Method and apparatus of asymmetric injection into subsonic flow of a high aspect ratio/complex geometry nozzle

The present invention reveals a method and apparatus for more efficiently injecting a primary fluid flow in a fluid ejector used to pump lower velocity fluid from a secondary source. In one embodiment, the primary fluid flow is a pulsed or unsteady fluid flow contained within an inner nozzle situated within a secondary flow field. This secondary fluid flow is bounded within the walls of an ejector or shroud. The secondary and primary fluid flows meet within the ejector shroud section wherein the secondary fluid flow is entrained by the primary fluid flow. The geometry of the ejector shroud section where the primary and secondary fluids mix is such as to allow the beginning of primary injector pulse to be synchronized with an acoustic wave moving upstream through the ejector initiated by the exiting of the previous pulse from the ejector shroud. The ejector's geometric properties are determined by the acoustic properties, frequency, duty cycle, and amplitude, of the pulsed primary fluid flow. Furthermore, the frequency, duty cycle and amplitude of the primary fluid flow may be varied in order to vary the efficiency of the injector.

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Weatherford, TX, United States of America

Kerry B Ginn