RU2765196C2 - Device for aerodynamic lifting of the payload - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: aviation.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of aviation, in particular to the designs of unmanned aerial vehicles. The device for aerodynamic lifting of a payload with a power plant made according to an electric, fuel or hybrid scheme consists of a housing inside which an engine with two main rotor propellers rotating in opposite directions is placed, more than three auxiliary engines with propellers installed along the outer perimeter of the housing. To create additional lift simultaneously with the task of compensating for roll, pitch and drift, auxiliary propellers are used to blow an aerodynamic wing mounted on the upper plane of the hull or the upper surface of the hull and simultaneously inject air to the main rotor propellers.

EFFECT: invention provides an increase in aerodynamic efficiency, a reduction in energy costs.

6 cl, 8 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The payload aerodynamic lift device (hereinafter referred to as AAP) refers to remotely piloted (unmanned) aerial vehicles (UAVs) of vertical takeoff and landing and provides payload lifting, long-term stay at a given point in space, both in height and orientation in direction, using ground and airborne controls and flight stabilization. The device can be used for fast high-altitude ascent and prolonged stay at a given point in the airspace, for example, antenna systems of radio-electronic monitoring systems for ground-based objects in order to expand the field of view.

The technical result of the proposed AAP solution is to increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the flight (being in the air) and, as a result, reduce the energy costs for its provision due to technical and design solutions that allow, simultaneously with the use of additional flight stabilization elements, to use the lifting force arising during their operation. on the aerodynamic wing or body of the device.

LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY AND ANALOGUES

To ensure long-term observation of remote ground objects, mechanical devices for lifting information sensors of means and complexes of electronic monitoring (radio, video, thermal, etc.) are widely used. However, the height of mechanical lifting devices is limited by a height of about two to three tens of meters, which in most tasks does not provide detection of objects at a given monitoring depth.

A practical solution to the problem of high-altitude placement of means for monitoring ground objects could be solved using multicopter-type UAVs.

However, self-powered multicopters (patents US 10315528 B1, application US 2020/0278700 A1) face the problem of a rather limited time of their flight (stay in the air), which consists in a forced compromise between the mass of batteries or fuel that they can carry to ensure power to their engines, the amount of payload they must carry, and the total flight time. In most implementations, the time spent in the air by self-powered multicopters does not exceed one and a half to two hours and does not satisfy the tasks of long-term electronic monitoring of ground-based objects.

Patents RU 2428355 C1, US 10399704 B2, US 10696395 B2, US 2017/0144754 A1, US 2018/0118374 A1 use the classic and widely used design of aerial lifting devices - multicopters powered by a power cable from a ground support station, the so-called tethered UAVs. The main disadvantage of tethered UAVs is the unacceptably high power consumption to keep the device and payload in the air and the significant weight of the power cable. Thus, a solution to the problem is to increase the efficiency of the UAV flight itself, by changing the design, which provides an increase in the lifting force of the device, taking into account the absence of the need for the UAP in level flight.

RU 2061627, RU 2151717, RU 2548294, RU 2458882, AU 2010269972 B2, Applications WO 2010 / 050839A1, WO 2020 / 107093A1, WO 2011/041991 A2, WO 2011/004187 A2, useful model RU 86560 U1 use the known method of increasing lift due to the Coanda effect [Aviation: Encyclopedia. — M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia. Chief editor G.P. Svishchev, 1994, Coande Henri - p.276, Jet stream - p.545], but they have one common drawback that reduces the effectiveness of its use. Initially, for the flow around aerodynamic surfaces, the design of these devices provides a change in the air flow from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction. It is known that the bending of the air flow lines causes a pressure gradient directed away from the center (for example, in a tornado) and this, in this case, causes a force that counteracts the rise (H. Babinsky, How do wings work? Physics Education 38(6 ) pp. 497-50, electronic resource http://www3.eng.cam.ac.uk/outreach/Project-resources/Wind-turbine/howwingswork.pdf, accessed 12/14/2020) http://www.vniir -progress.ru/production/navi/malogabaritnaya-adaptivnaya-antennaya-reshetka-serii-kometa/. As a result, the efficiency of these devices is lower than that of purely rotary-wing machines, which is obviously confirmed by the presence of experimental samples of aircraft of this type and their absence on the market of operated unmanned devices.

Similar in terms of the method of increasing the lifting force to the proposed device is the method according to patent RU 2726217 C1. The method involves attaching an aerodynamic screen (wing) to the UAV with holes for rotating propellers in a plane parallel to the plane of their rotation. During the rotation of the propellers above the surface of the aerodynamic wing, air flows are created, directed towards the axis of rotation of the propellers, which create an area of reduced air pressure above the upper surface of the wing, which ensures the creation of an additional lifting force of the device. The disadvantage of this method is that the area of low pressure is created only by propellers rotating in a plane parallel to the plane of the wing surface. Thus, flight efficiency is not fully ensured.

Close in layout of the main and auxiliary propellers to the proposed device is an unmanned aerial vehicle according to patent US20200385117. The system under consideration provides flight with a high load due to the use of an impeller installed inside the body of the device, and auxiliary propellers installed along the perimeter of the body. The power plant is made according to the hybrid scheme. The design of the device does not provide for the presence of aerodynamic surfaces that provide additional lift and flight stabilization - the location of the UAP at a given point in the airspace. Thus, the device under consideration (patent US20200385117) does not combine all the advantages of rotorcraft and aircraft that use the occurrence of additional lift when air flows around the wing or aerodynamic surface of the body. For example, this effect is used on the AN-74 aircraft (Aviation: Encyclopedia. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia. Editor-in-chief G.P. Svishchev, 1994, An 72 - p. 57, Power mechanization of the wing - p. 673, Electronic resource https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD-74, accessed 03.03.2021).

Closest to the proposed device is "Vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle" according to patent RU 197835 U1. The design and layout of the main and auxiliary propellers (impellers) is similar to the device discussed above (patent US2020038511), except for the addition of a profiled ring at the entrance to the vertical channel of the main lifting impeller, which forms a continuous covering air flow on the upper convex surface of the disk-shaped body of the device. Thus, the device implements the use of the Coanda effect, which occurs when an air flow flows around convex surfaces, to increase the lifting force.

However, the design of this device retains the disadvantage described above when using the Coanda effect (patents RU 2664851, RU 2061627, RU 2151717, RU 2548294, RU 2458882, AU 2010269972 B2, applications WO 2010/050839Al, WO 2020/1091093A1, WO 2020/107093A1, WO 2020/107093A1, WO WO 2011/004187 A2) - changing the air flow from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction. The disadvantage of the design is also the low speed of air flow around the surface of the housing and, as a result, a slight increase in lift.

The considered system is chosen as a prototype. To eliminate the noted shortcomings, an aerodynamic payload lifting device is proposed, containing a housing with an integrated main rotor - an impeller, and additional structural elements for blowing the housing or aerodynamic wing installed vertically along the outer perimeter of the housing. This eliminates the disadvantage of the prototype - changing the air flow for blowing aerodynamic surfaces from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction. Forced blowing of a convex body or an aerodynamic wing also increases the speed of the air flow around the wing, and the wing lift is known to be proportional to the square of the speed [Starikov Yu.N., Kovrizhnykh E.N. Fundamentals of aircraft aerodynamics. Tutorial. Recommended by the editorial and publishing council of UVAU GA, Ulyanovsk, 2004. 152 p.]. Therefore, the additional lifting force generated by the proposed device significantly exceeds the additional lifting force of the prototype. Accordingly, the flight efficiency increases and, as a result, the energy consumption for its implementation is reduced.

DISCLOSURE OF THE ESSENCE OF THE TECHNICAL SOLUTION

The technical result of the proposed invention "Device for aerodynamic lifting of the payload" is:

- improving the flight characteristics of the device during vertical takeoff and hover, including with a payload, due to changes in the design of the flight stabilization elements and the addition of one or more aerodynamic wings, allowing, simultaneously with flight stabilization, to obtain additional lift when blowing their surfaces and / or airflow of the aerodynamic surface directly to the body of the device;

- increasing the level of safety of using the device, reducing the risk of damage to third parties, personnel and equipment of ground flight support facilities. This is achieved by the fact that the proposed UAP in an emergency - for example, when the engines are turned off due to lack of fuel or power supply from the ground support station - can land due to the autorotation of the main rotor and auxiliary propellers (flight stabilization elements) that ensure this cases of controlled descent of the device.

The specified technical result is achieved by the fact that the UAP contains a housing, inside which is placed the engine with the main bearing impeller, made according to a twin-screw coaxial scheme. The propellers, protected by an annular casing, increase the efficiency of the propellers and make the operation of the device safer, and the auxiliary propellers, which provide control and flight stabilization in the prototype, are installed vertically and pump the air flow around the aerodynamic wing or the convex surface of the device body, due to which there is an additional lift power. The roll, pitch and drift of the UAP are compensated by the speed and angle of airflow, by changing the shape or angle of inclination (attack) of the wing. At the same time, simultaneously with the blowing of the aerodynamic surfaces, the air from the outer perimeter of the device is injected to the rotors of the impeller, further increasing the efficiency of their work.

The payload can be either evenly distributed inside the hull, or it can be mounted outside the hull on rigid mounts that do not allow measuring the position (orientation) of the payload in space, or on flexible cables if there is no need to keep the payload oriented.

The essence of this invention also lies in the fact that the design of the UAP provides, when the engine of the main rotors of the impeller is turned off, the possibility of changing the position of the auxiliary propellers together with the wings blown by them in such a way that both the main rotors and the auxiliary propellers are untwisted. In addition, the auxiliary propellers, integrated with their aerodynamic wings, provide descent control by changing the position, angle of attack and changing the angle of inclination of the auxiliary propellers relative to the aerodynamic wing itself. Thus, using a low-power emergency power source (battery), it is possible to carry out a controlled descent of the device, reducing the risk of damage to third parties, personnel and equipment of protected objects, personnel and equipment of ground flight support facilities.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a simplified diagram (top view) of the embodiment of a multi-axis UAP rotary type with a circular fixed aerodynamic wing.

In FIG. Figure 2 shows a simplified cross-sectional diagram of the implementation of a multi-axis rotary-type UAP with a circular fixed aerodynamic wing.

In FIG. 3 shows a variant of the implementation of aerodynamic wings, consisting of rectangular sections, each of which has a mechanization that changes the lift force of the wing section.

In FIG. 4 shows a conditional simplified section of the UAP, which uses the upper plane of the hull, made in the form of an aerodynamic surface, to create additional lift.

In FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal section of the UAP, the aerodynamic wing of which consists of sections, each of which is integrated with its own auxiliary propeller and engine.

In FIG. 6 shows the UAP in the emergency descent mode.

In FIG. 7 shows the design of the UAP brackets and their possible configurations for emergency descent.

In FIG. 8 shows a UAP with payload in transport position.

In FIG. 1-8 marked:

1 - body;

2 - main lifting impeller;

3 - main rotors-propellers;

4 - auxiliary propellers;

5 - continuous aerodynamic wing;

6 - a separate section of the aerodynamic wing;

7 - the engine of the main rotors;

8 - auxiliary propeller engine;

9 - power supply system;

10 - bracket for holding the power supply cable;

11 - power cable;

12 - auxiliary battery recharging control unit;

13 - mechanization of the wing section 6 (flaps, ailerons, rudders, etc.);

14 - aerodynamic surface of the UAP body;

15 - movable aerodynamic wing, integrated with an airflow supercharger;

16 - air blower (auxiliary propeller with integrated auxiliary propeller motor);

17 - shipping container;

18 - antenna system;

19 - doors of the shipping container;

20 - mechanical lift with a runway platform;

21 - the first (vertical) coaxial hinge;

22 - second (horizontal) coaxial hinge.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INVENTION

The device for aerodynamic lifting of the payload consists of a hollow body 1, in the center of which is the main lifting impeller 2 with one or two main rotors-propellers 3; three or more auxiliary propellers 4 installed along the perimeter of the body 1; aerodynamic wing, continuous 5 or divided into sections 6; control equipment, power plant with main rotor engine 7, auxiliary propeller engines 8; power supply system 9 (Fig.1-3), spatial position sensors, communications, navigation and information transmission (not shown conventionally); means of attaching the payload (they differ depending on the requirements and the actual payload, not shown conventionally).

The main impeller 2 performs the main lifting function due to the size of its rotors 3. Auxiliary propellers 4, using control equipment and attitude sensors, provide flight stabilization in roll, pitch and drift. Auxiliary propellers 4 can also be made in the form of impellers according to US patent 10569856 B2.

The power plant can be made according to the electric, fuel or hybrid scheme. In the variant of the fuel or hybrid scheme, the device includes a fuel engine, a fuel tank and an onboard power supply generator with a control unit. The fuel engine drives the main bearing propellers 3 (US20200385117). Auxiliary propellers are driven by electric motors. In the embodiment according to the electrical circuit, the UAP contains a bracket 10 for holding the power supply cable 11 (patent RU 2441809 C2), which supplies electricity from a ground-based generator, and a transformer with a control unit for recharging the auxiliary battery 12. In all implementations of the power plant, electric motors are used to drive auxiliary propellers. In an emergency, when the main lifting impeller is turned off, power is supplied only to the auxiliary propeller motors 4.

Specific implementations of the use of additional lift used in the aerodynamic wing device can vary significantly and are given below only to illustrate the present invention, without in any way limiting the scope of possible implementations.

Figure 1 and figure 2 shows a variant of the use of a round fixed aerodynamic wing 5, mounted on the upper plane of the housing 1 UAP. Auxiliary propellers 4 with their engines 8 are mounted on the body 1 along the outer perimeter of the aerodynamic wing. The flight stabilization control is carried out by changing the intensity of the airflow of the wing 5 with auxiliary propellers 4.

Figure 3 shows a possible implementation of the aerodynamic wing, divided into sections 6, each of which is equipped with mechanization (flaps, ailerons, etc.) 13, providing a change in lift. Each section 6 of the aerodynamic wing is blown by its auxiliary propeller 4. Flight stabilization is controlled both by changing the intensity of blowing the surfaces of the wing 6 and by changing the lifting force due to the mechanization 13 built into the section.

A variant of the implementation of the UAP using blowing the convex (aerodynamic) surface 14 of the body 1 of the device is shown in Fig.4.

A variant of the implementation of the UAP using movable aerodynamic wings 15, integrated with the air blower 16, is shown in Fig.5. It is possible to use superchargers integrated with the wing according to the variant proposed in US patent 10569856 B2.

In this version of the blowers 16 (i.e. auxiliary propeller 4 and its engine 8) integrated with the wing 15 (Fig. 5), the device has the ability to perform an emergency descent when the engine of the main main propellers is turned off, as shown in Fig. 6. The design of the brackets and their possible configurations for emergency descent are shown in Fig.7.

Figure 8 shows a variant of the implementation of the UAP using movable aerodynamic wings 15, integrated with the supercharger of the air flow 16, and providing the possibility of stacking for transportation in a closed container 17.

The operation of the proposed device (Fig. 8) is as follows. The command to raise the UAP is issued by a ground mobile or stationary complex for monitoring remote ground objects. The type of monitoring is determined by the payload being lifted. For example, the payload may be the antenna system 18 of the monitoring complex for radio sources. After opening the flaps 19 of the shipping container 17, extending the take-off and landing platform 20 to the height of the container 17 using a mechanical lift, starting the engine 7 of the main rotors 3 of the impeller 2 and opening the aerodynamic wings 15 into working condition and starting the engines of the blowers of the air flow 16, a takeoff is made and lifting the UAP to the required height.

An autopilot with position sensors and a navigation receiver controls the hovering stability of the UAP at a given point in space in height and orientation in direction, giving the appropriate commands to operate the engines of the blowers of the air flow 16, or the means of mechanizing sections of the aerodynamic wing 13 (figure 3), or the position of the auxiliary propellers 4 (FIG. 4) and their engines 8, or the position of the aerodynamic wing 15 integrated with the air blower 16 (FIG. 5).

In case of emergency shutdown of the main lifting impeller 2, the device enters the emergency landing mode. UAP according to the variant of Fig.1-4, the auxiliary propellers are transferred to a horizontal position (Fig.7-a). In the device according to the variant of Fig. 5, the movable aerodynamic wing 15, integrated with the airflow blower 16, is rotated 90 degrees using the first (vertical) coaxial hinge 21, and using the second (horizontal) coaxial hinge 22, the optimal angle of attack of the auxiliary propeller 4 is set to ensure its spin-up by the oncoming air flow (fig.7-b). A variant of its preliminary forced promotion is possible, as is done during the take-off of gyroplanes.

Figure 6 shows a variant of the location of the movable aerodynamic wings 15 and air blowers 16 to ensure the operation of auxiliary propellers close in aerodynamics to the mode of operation of rotors in gyroplanes [Aviation: Encyclopedia. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia. Chief editor G.P. Svishchev, 1994, AVTOGYR - p. 34].

Shown in Fig.6-a variant of the location of the movable aerodynamic wings 15 and air blowers 16 (side view), provides a controlled rectilinear vertical emergency descent. This option can be used if there is electrical power from the ground support station, which cannot be reset. In FIG. 6-b shows another version of the location of the movable aerodynamic wings 15 and airflow blowers 16, which provides an emergency descent of the UAP, in which the device begins to spin like falling maple seeds - spinning, they create a small tornado that does not allow them to fall for a long time. This method of emergency descent with the untwisting of the body of the device can be applied to UAP with a power plant made according to a fuel or hybrid scheme, i.e. to a device that does not have a tether or has a special device for its safe release, such as a parachute.

The implementation of the invention can be used to quickly lift the payload, including means of electronic monitoring of ground objects, to the required height and for a safe long time at a given point in the airspace.

Claims (6)

1. A device for aerodynamic lifting of a payload with a power plant made according to an electric, fuel or hybrid scheme, and consisting of a housing inside which is placed an engine with two main rotors-propellers rotating in opposite directions, more than three auxiliary engines with propellers installed along the outer perimeter of the hull, characterized in that in order to create additional lift simultaneously with the task of compensating for roll, pitch and drift, auxiliary propellers are used to blow the aerodynamic wing mounted on the upper plane of the hull and simultaneously pump air to the main carrier propellers. 2. The aerodynamic payload lifting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the aerodynamic wing of a round or any other shape may consist of sections, each of which may have mechanization that changes the lift of the wing section. 3. A device for aerodynamic lifting of a payload with a power plant made according to an electric, fuel or hybrid scheme, and consisting of a housing inside which is placed an engine with two main rotors-propellers rotating in opposite directions, more than three auxiliary engines with propellers installed along the outer perimeter of the hull, characterized in that to create additional lift, the upper plane of the hull is used, made in the form of an aerodynamic surface, and compensation for roll, pitch and drift is provided by changing the speed and angle of blowing this surface. 4. An aerodynamic payload lifting device according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that when the engine of the main propellers and the auxiliary propeller engines are turned off, an emergency landing is provided in the autorotation mode of the main main propellers and the auxiliary propellers that control the descent. 5. The aerodynamic payload lifting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the aerodynamic wing can consist of several sections, each of which is integrated with its auxiliary propeller and engine and is equipped with a bracket with transverse and longitudinal hinges, which makes it possible to change its position relative to the body within the range from - 90° to + 180° in the vertical plane and from 0° to +/- 90° in the horizontal plane, and thus, when all engines are turned off, it is possible to control an emergency landing using autorotation, both of the main propellers and and auxiliary propellers operating in a mode close in aerodynamics to the mode of operation of the rotors of a gyroplane. 6. The aerodynamic payload lifting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the aerodynamic wing can consist of several sections, each of which is integrated with its auxiliary propeller and is equipped with a bracket that provides compact stacking of the device for transportation.

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