Patent ID: 11884381
Assignee: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REPRESENTED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF NASA
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  Y | IPC B

Claim 16:
17. An active flow control (AFC) actuator assembly for a simple-hinged flap aboard an aircraft having a pneumatic power supply, the simple-hinged flap having a leading airfoil section that is pivotably connected to a trailing airfoil section via an intervening hinge, the AFC actuator assembly comprising:
a housing defining a plenum chamber and a pneumatic feed tube configured to connect to the pneumatic power supply, thereby receiving an inlet mass flowrate from the pneumatic power supply, wherein the housing is connectable to or integrally formed with the simple-hinged flap;
a preconditioning upstream array of fluidic oscillators arranged in a first row in a spanwise direction of a wing of a winged aircraft, and collectively configured to emit a first outlet mass flowrate in response to the inlet mass flowrate, wherein the first outlet mass flowrate preconditions a boundary layer of a natural flow around the simple-hinged flap before flow separation when the winged aircraft is in flight; and
a downstream array of steady-blowing jet nozzles spaced apart from the preconditioning upstream array of fluidic oscillators, and arranged in a second row downstream of the first row, wherein the downstream array of steady-blowing jet nozzles is arranged in a spanwise direction of the wing of the winged aircraft, and is collectively configured to emit a second outlet mass flowrate that substantially exceeds the first outlet mass flowrate, wherein the second outlet mass flowrate controls separation of the natural flow over the wing of the winged aircraft when the winged aircraft is in flight.