Patent ID: 7631836
Filing Date: 2009-12-15
Classification: B64C,B64D,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A power plant for an aircraft having a structure establishing a maximum Mach number at which the aircraft is capable of flying, said power plant comprising: at least a jet engine; a jet engine nacelle comprising, upstream in the air inlet direction, an air inlet structure provided upstream with an inlet face; and a conical compression ramp which is mounted coaxially with respect to the nacelle, at the level of the inlet face of the air inlet structure, wherein: said inlet face of the air inlet structure includes an elliptical conical cross section defined by the intersection of (i) a conical shock wave generated by the conical compression ramp for a particular Mach number that is greater than said maximum Mach number at which the aircraft is capable of flying and (ii) a first plane which is inclined with respect to a second plane orthogonal to a longitudinal general direction of the nacelle, said first plane is inclined with respect to said second plane by an angle of inclination which is such that the maximum width of the inlet face corresponds to the width of the nacelle at the level of a central part of the nacelle intended to receive a fan, the free side of said inlet face is set back, in the air inlet direction, with respect to the opposite side intended to face the aircraft, and the inlet face of the air inlet structure having said shape of the elliptical conical cross section causes an actual shock wave generated by the conical compression ramp during flight to not be ingested by the jet engine at any Mach number at which the aircraft is capable of flying.