Patent ID: 7510149

Claim:
A method to manipulate shedding of flow field vortices from an external aerodynamic surface of an aircraft, comprising: placing a plurality of micro jets at the external aerodynamic surface, wherein the micro jets are oriented at an acute angle to a mean flow direction of a fluid flow; inducing secondary flow structures within a boundary layer of the fluid flow with the micro jets at the external aerodynamic surface, wherein the secondary flow structures manipulate the shedding of flow field vortices from the external aerodynamic surface; controlling the micro jets with a control system operably coupled to the micro jets, wherein the control system is operable to direct the micro jets to introduce the secondary flow structures to achieve a desired fluid flow over the external aerodynamic surface; detecting fluid flow characteristics over the external aerodynamic surface with a sensing system that is coupled to the control system; comparing the detected fluid flow characteristics over the external aerodynamic surface to the desired fluid flow over the external aerodynamic surface with the control system, and directing the micro jets to introduce the secondary flow structures to dynamically control the shedding of flow field vortices from the external aerodynamic surface to achieve the desired fluid flow over the external aerodynamic surface based on the comparison; at least some of the secondary flow structures direct the flow field vortices away from inlet systems of an engine of the aircraft and reduce buffeting of the aircraft; and at least some of the micro jets are located in a receptive zone along leading edges of the aircraft, and are oriented at the acute angle relative to fluid flow and an acute azimuth angle relative to the fluid flow, and the secondary flow structures are within the boundary layer between the fluid flow and the external aerodynamic surface.