GB2595032A

GB2595032A - Improvements to the movement of a vehicle, aircraft or vessel

Info

Publication number: GB2595032A
Application number: GB2103729.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harry Prescott Matthew
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-03-17
Filing date: 2021-03-17
Publication date: 2021-11-17
Also published as: GB202003830D0; GB202103729D0

Abstract

A craft such as a vehicle, aircraft or water vessel is provided to travel through a surrounding environment fluid control means are provided, which may include nozzles 22, to allow fluid to be emitted therefrom in order to create a zone in the path of movement of the craft which reduces the effect of drag on the craft as it moves through the said environment. A method of reducing drag on a craft by monitoring the crafts surrounding environment and then emitting a fluid from the craft, based on said monitoring, is also disclosed.

Description

Improvements to the movement of a vehicle aircraft or vessel The invention to which this application relates is to an improvement which allows the improved passage of a. vehicle, vessel or craft (hereinafter referred to a.s a craft in a non-limiting manner) through its surrounding environment. In particular, the improvements are provided to allow a reduction in drag acting on the craft and thereby allow the movement of the same through the environment to be Unproved in a. manner which allows reduced fuel consumption, improvements in the possible speed of the movement, reduced turbulence and/or to allow adaptation of the craft with respect to the surrounding environmental conditions at that time.

Drag is a mechanical force which is generated by the craft as it moves through a fluid such as air or water. 't he mechanical force acts to reduce the ease of movement of the craft through the fluid and as a. result, increases the force which is required to be exerted by the object to move in the desired direction and to overcome the drag forces._With reference to aircraft, it is known that drag is a significant problem which has to be overcome and a thrust force acting to move the aircraft forwards and overcome the effect of drag acting on the tail of the craft in the reverse direction is " b -required to overcome the resistance of air* surrounding the aircraft and which resists the movement of the aircraft through the same. In order to overcome this resistance, it is necessary for the engines provided on the aircraft, to be of sufficient power to overcome the drag resistance by moving the aircraft under power through the environment and to do so at a sufficient speed so that the ability for the aircraft to stay in the air as it moves, is maintained and also that the comfort and speed of the craft is maintained at an appropriate level. ;It is also known that the particular conditions of the surrounding environment at that time can have a significant impact on the movement of the craft such as, for example, the air* pressure can have an impact, the direction and speed of wind can have an impact, as can the moisture levels in the surrounding environment. Most typically, a. combination of these features will have some impact on the movement of the craft and these environmental conditions can vary significantly over time due to the relative long distances which the craft will travel and different weather conditions en route.

As these problems arc known and experienced on a daily basis, aircraft arc provided with many different facilities which can be selectively operated manually by the pilot and/or automatically using relatively complex computer control systems for flying the craft.

Similar problems, although due to different environment conditions, can be experienced by vessels moving through water and vehicles moving across surfaces and the problems addressed in this invention can equally be applied to such vehicles or vessels.

The athi of the present invention is therefore to provide improvements to the craft which allows the impact of the surrounding environment and, in particular, drag on the movement of the craft through the environment, to be reduced and thereby allow improved efficiency, improved comfort, improved speed of movement and/or reduction in fuel requirements of the craft so as to allow more economic and comfortable passage of the craft through the surrounding environment.

A further aim is to provide the improvements in a. manner which allows the same to be adaptable during the movement of the craft to thereby allow different, and changing,, environmental conditions to be taken into account so that, at any given time, the said improvements arc provided in a condition which is best suited for the environment at that time.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a craft, said craft including a body for movement through an environment, said body including means to allow the control of the craft to be achieved manually and/or automatically, and the said body includes front, intermediate and rear portions and wherein located at the front and/or intermediate portions, there are provided a plurality of fluid flow control means provided to selectively emit a fluid from the same into the surrounding environment as the craft moves through the said environment.

Typically, the force and/or direction of the emission of the said fluid flow is adjustable.

In one embodiment, the direction of the emission of the fluid is achieved by movement of said one or more fluid control means with respect to the body. In one embodiment the fluid control means are rotatable.

In one embodiment the said fluid control means are provided in the form of a group of nozzles.

Typically, the speed of emission of the fluid or force of emission is selected by operating pumps which pump the said fluid through the fluid control means and/or the shape, type and orientation of the fluid control means and/or movement of the same.

In one embodiment, the fluid which is emitted from the fluid control means is the same type of fluid as that which is present in the surrounding environment and through which the said craft is moving. For example, if the craft is an aircraft then the fluid is air, if the craft is a water vessel then the fluid is water and if the craft is a vehicle then the fluid is air.

In one embodiMent, the said fluid which is emitted is collected from the surrounding environment and then passed towards the fluid control means in a controlled manner or is passed from a storage means and from which the fluid is selectively passed to the fluid control means to be emitted therefrom.

In one embodiment the said fluid is emitted in a compressed or pressurised form Typically, an array of said fluid control means are located at a portion of the said body and in one embodiment, the fluid control means are movable and controlled as a group or alternatively, ea.ch fluid control means and the fluid emitted therefrom, is controllable independently.

In one embodiment, the said fluid is emitted from the fluid control means in a direction which substantially opposes the primary direction of fluid impact from the surrounding environment onto the body of the craft as the craft is moving..

In one embodiment, a plurality of fluid control means are located at, or adjacent to, the front of the body of the craft such as, for example, around the cone area of an aircraft or the cab of a. tractor unit of an articulated vehicle.

In this configuration the main aim of the provision of the fluid control means and use of the same at this location is to allow the effect of the drag acting on the craft to be reduced and, in effect the configuration of the fluid control means and the emission of the fluid therefrom is provided so as to create a slipstream effect in advance of the body with regard to the direction of movement of the craft, and hence create a slipstream in advance of at last a portion of the craft in the direction of movement of the craft. By creating the slipstream effect, so the craft is moving through less turbulent air flow, the creation and effect of drag on the craft is reduced and so the efficiency of operation of the craft is improved. It will be appreciated that the specific location and configuration of the fluid control means will be selected with respect to the particular shape of the body, the environment in which the craft is to be, (Jr is being, used and then can be adapted further by the selective movement and control of the speed of emission of the fluid during uce of the craft.

In one embodiment the emission of the fluid from the fluid control means may vary with respect to the speed of movement of the craft at that time. For example the fluid emission may be automatically controlled between no emission when the craft is stationery and the emissions may then progressively increase as he speed of movement of the craft increa.ses. In addition or alternatively the emission of the fluid may be altered to take into account changes in environmental conditions such as for example for aircraft storm conditions or still condition and for water vessels, stormy sea.s or still sea.s.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a fluid emission and control means for use in location with a craft to create a. fluid zone in the path of movement of said craft, wherein said means include a supply of the fluid, a. plurality of nozzles, mounting means to mount said nozzles in a position on said craft and control means to allow the selective position of the said nozzles and/or control of one (Jr more parameters of the emission of said fluid.

S

In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of reducing drag and/or turbulence acting on a craft passing through an -air or water environment, said method comprising the steps of monitoring the movement of the craft, monitoring the condition of the surrounding environment and selectively positioning one or a plurality of fluid control means on the body of the craft and controlling the emission of the fluid from the said fluid control means and/or positioning of the fluid control means and wherein the said controlling is performed with reference to the detected condition of the environment and/or movement of the craft at that time.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figures la-c illustrate three different types of craft with which the invention may be used; Figure 2 illustrates the front portion of an aircraft including fluid control means thereon in accordance with the invention; Figures 3a-c illustrates different operating conditions of the fluid control means in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figures 4a-c illustrate the effect of the differing configurations of the fluid control means of Figures 3a-c in accordance with the adjacent air' flow; and Figure 5 illustrates the fluid control means in use with a craft in the form of a road vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to Figures la -c there are illustrated three different types of craft with which the current invention can be utilised.

The craft in this case are an aircraft 2, vehicle 4 and vessel 6. In each embodiment the craft is provided with a body 7 for movement through a surrounding environment in the form of air 8 for an aircraft, air 10 and a road surface 12 for the vehicle and a body of water such as the sea or lake 13 and air 14 for the vessel. In each case, as the craft passes through or along the environment there is a resistance to the movement and the invention M. accordance with the application allows steps to be taken to mitigate the resistance.

The invention is now described with regard to Figures 2-4c with reference to the aircraft 2 but it should be appreciated that the same considerations and advantages can be implemented with respect to the other craft.

In Figure 2 there is illustrated a front view of the front portion 16 of the aircraft body, which includes a nose cone 18 which is typically located in front of the cockpit windows 20 of the air. craft 2. The nose cone includes located therewith a series of fluid flow control means in the form of nozzles 22, each of which are provided with an inlet 24 and leading to an outlet 26 and provided on a nozzle head 40. 't he configuration of the nozzles 22 can be selected to take into account the particular shape of the nose cone and/or surrounding environmental conditions. As will be appreciated from the Figures 4a-c the flow of fluid outwardly from the nozzle outlets 26 has an impact on the airflow pattern 28 of the environment surrounding the nose cone 18. However in each case the itm. is to provide an area 42 of less turbulent airspace in front of the nose cone 18 and thereby effectively creates a slipstream effect from the nozzle head leading back and outwardly, as illustrated, in front of the nose cone and hence to the front of the aircraft as it passes through the air in the direction of arrow 44 and thereby significantly reduce the effect of drag acting on the aircraft.

The fluid which passes through the nozzles is typically received from the surrounding environment and the action of the fluid passing though the nozzles from the inlets 24 which in one embodiment are provided in the head 40, allows the pressure and force of movement of the fluid to be increased before it reaches and is emitted from the outlet 26 of the nozzle and thereby has the desired effect on the surrounding environment.

Ifigures 3a-e illustrate the manner in which the nozzles are located at the free end 38 of a spike or rod 30 which extends outwardly from the front of the nose cone 18 of the air' craft and three different shapes of nose cone are shown in Figure 4a-c.

The operation of the nozzles 22 can be selected to allow the particular parameters of operation of that aircraft in the surrounding environment at a particular tune to be adjusted, and preferably the flight of the same is improved, by the selective operation of the nozzles. For example, the control of one or more of the parameters of whether or not to operate the nozzles, the direction of the same and/or the volume and/or pressure of fluid flow through the same can all controllable decisions and settings. knrthermore, the status of the aircraft operation may be used as a means to determine specific settings, such as for example, when the aircraft is taking off or landing the setting may be different than it would be when the aircraft is in normal flight.

In each case the nozzles 22 are equally spaced around the spike or rod 30 and by selectively positioning the same and then emitting air from the nozzle outlets 26, the air flow 28 which would otherwise act as a resistance to the movement of the aircraft through the environment is deflected away from the body of the aircraft and hence reduces the turbulence acting on the aircraft and improves the ease of movement of the craft. In one embodiment the nozzles are located with the nozzle head via respective adjustable connections. In one embodiment each of the nozzles is independently controllable with respect to the nozzle head or alternatively the nozzles are controllable as a group which allows the configuration of the nozzles to be moved to a common configuration on the nozzle head and operated in a common manner.

Figures 3a-c illustrate the nozzle configurations in greater detail with respect to the deflection of the airflow 28 so that, for example, the nozzle configuration shown in Figure 3a provides the airflow deflection illustrated in Figure 4a., the nozzle configuration shown in Figure 3b provides the airflow detection illustrated in Figure 4b and the nozzle configuration shown in Figure 3c provides the airflow detection illustrated in Figure 4c.

Figure 5 illustrates another form of vehicle 4 in the form of an articulated vehicle M which the body 7 includes the tractor milt 46 and trailer 48. The fluid control means nozzles 22 are mounted on one or more arms 50 at the front of the roof of the tractor unit 46 with respect to the movement of the vehicle in a forward direction as indicated by arrow 52. The lines 54 indicate the environment through which the

S

vehicle would normally move and illustrate the resistance which the environment would provide to the movement. I Iowever, ill accordance with the invention the fluid control means are controlled to emit fluid 56 in the direction of arrow 58 to effectively form a zone 60 in front of the vehicle as it moves in the direction 52 in which drag caused by the environment 54 is reduced and therefore reduces the resistance to the,movement of the vehicle and thereby increase efficiency of movement, reduce fuel consumption and impact on the vehicle.

In each of the embodiments the position of the nozzles 22 with respect to the craft can be adjusted to suit any, or any combination of, the environmental conditions at that time, the speed of movement of the craft at that time and/or direction of movement of the craft at that time. For example, the nozzles may be rotatable during use and /or between operation to different positions and, if the nozzles are supported on arms 50 the arms may be adjusted in length so as provide the nozzles 22 at a required position to create the zone 60 of the required size and shape and/or the fluid may be emitted from the nozzles 22 with a required density or pressure. In addition or alternatively, the adjustment may be to intermittently shut the pressure control means on and off. In one embodiment this may be achieved by the provision of one or more sensors on the craft which detect environmental and/or craft conditions and parameters and then the data from these sensors can be processed to allow adjustment to be made to the fluid emission in order to maintain (Jr recue the level of drag acting on the craft as it moves in the intended direction. In one embodnnent the adjustment made may be automatic or recommendations for adjustment may be made to the operator of the craft.

The invention therefore provides improvements in the efficiency with which a. craft can travel through it's surrounding environment, such as an aircraft, vehicle or a water craft by the creation of an environment in the immediate vicinity of the craft which aids the movement of the craft hi the intended direction of movement.

Claims

Claims 1 A craft including a body for movement through an environment, said body including means to allow the control of the craft to be achieved manually and/or automatically, and the said body includes front, intermediate and rear portions and wherein located at the front and/or intermediate portions, there are provided a plurality of fluid flow control means provided to selectively emit a fluid from the same into the surrounding environment as the craft moves through the said envUomnent.
2 A craft according to claim 1 wherein the force and/or direction of the emission of the said fluid is adjustable.
3 A craft according to claim I wherein the fluid control means includes one or more nozzles.
4 A craft according to claim 3 wherein the speed of emission of the fluid and/or pressure of emission of the fluid is controlled by operating a pump which pumps the said fluid from the nozzles and/or the pressure of the fluid supply A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the position of the said fluid control means with respect to the body of the craft is adjustable.6 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fluid which is emitted is substantially the same as the fluid through which the said craft or vehicle is movnig.7 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the craft is any of a water vessel, land based vehicle or an aircraft.8 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the said fluid which is emitted is collected from the surrounding environment and passed either directly to be emitted or is passed to a storage means and from which the fluid is then selectively passed to be emitted.9 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein an array of fluid control means are located in a portion of the body.A craft according to claim 9 wherein the fluid control means arc moveable and controllable individually (Jr as a group.11 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the said fluid is emitted in a. direction substantially opposing the direction of the impacting fluid from the surrounding environment onto the body of the craft as the craft moves through the surrounding environment 12 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the said fluid control means are located at or adjacent to the front of the craft with respect to the direction of travel of the craft.13 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the craft is an aircraft and the fluid control means are located around the cone area.14 A craft according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fluid which is emitted creates a buffer zone immediately in front of the craft both which creates a drag of a reduced level in comparison to that created in said surrounding environment.13 Fluid emission and control means for use in location with a craft to create a fluid zone in the path of movement of said craft, wherein said means include a supply of the fluid, a plurality of nozzles, mounting means to mount said nozzles in a position on said craft and control means to allow the selective position of the said nozzles and/or control of one or more parameters of the emission of said fluid.16 A method of reducing drag and/or turbulence acting on a craft passing through an air or water environment, sa.id method comprising the steps of monitoring the movement of the craft, monitoring the condition of the surrounding environment and selectively positioning one or a plurality of fluid control means on the body of the craft and controlling the emission of the fluid from the said fluid control means and/or positioning of the fluid control means and wherein the said controlling is performed with reference to the detected condition of the environment and/or movement of the craft at that time.