Patent ID: 8408281

Claim:
A system for boosting heat transfer capability of cooling air within an aircraft, comprising: a passage adapted to be located in the aircraft for directing a flow of cooling air therethrough, the passage having an inlet for ingress of the cooling air and an exit for egress of the cooling air; a heat exchanger mounted in the passage, the heat exchanger having a conduit with an inlet port for communicating fluid into the heat exchanger to be cooled by the cooling air, an outlet port for communicating the fluid out of the heat exchanger, and a path extending from the inlet port to the outlet port for directing the fluid through the heat exchanger, the heat exchanger also having a plurality of fins for transferring heat from the conduit to the cooling air, and the fins being aligned in a direction parallel to a flow of the cooling air; and a pulsed-jet actuator mounted in the passage for producing pulsed-jets into the cooling air flowing through the passage, the pulsed-jets imparting an unsteady component of velocity to the cooling air flowing though the passage for enhancing a rate of heat transfer and removal in the heat exchanger; and wherein the pulsed-jet actuator comprises a plurality of pulsed-jet actuators mounted to a grid on an upstream side of the heat exchanger.