Patent ID: 7637455

Claim:
A system comprising: an inlet defining a passageway for delivery of intake air toward an engine of an aircraft, wherein the passageway extends along a longitudinal axis of the inlet generally aligned with a direction of flow of air as the air approaches the inlet, wherein the passageway defines an aperture at a first end of the passageway to receive a portion of the air as the intake air for delivery toward the engine at a second end of the passageway; a surface outside the passageway and upstream of the aperture, wherein the surface includes at least one of a wing surface or a body surface; and a control system including: at least one first dielectric barrier discharge generator positioned along the surface along the longitudinal axis to apply a first force to a boundary layer of the air approaching the inlet, wherein the boundary layer includes air flowing adjacent to the surface, wherein the first force is transverse to the longitudinal axis; and at least one second dielectric barrier discharge generator positioned along the surface such that the at least one second dielectric barrier discharge generator is between the at least one first dielectric barrier discharge generator and the aperture to apply a second force to a portion of the boundary layer, wherein the second force is directed parallel to the longitudinal axis or at an angle between the first force and the longitudinal axis, and wherein the second force accelerates the portion of the boundary layer toward the aperture or deflects the portion of the boundary layer away from the aperture.