Flush inlet for supersonic aircraft

Claim 2

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a convergent/divergent inlet air passage having a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage and extending from said flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner defining an adjustable cant angle formed at the upstream leading edge of said flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream; (d) means for adjusting said expansion corner cant angle during inflight operation as a function of the actual Mach number at which the supersonic aircraft is operating for inflight optimization of said supersonic air inlet; (e) said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage being shaped so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 3

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a convergent/divergent inlet air passage having a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage and extending from said flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner formed at the upstream leading edge of said flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream, said expansion corner being defined by a pair of transverse panels hingedly interconnected to one another and to the respective adjacent upstream and downstream aircraft structure; (d) means for flexing said pair of expansion corner defining panels so as to selectively vary the angle of said expansion corner as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft and to thereby vary the turning angle of the airstream and the expansion characteristics of the inlet; (e) said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage being shaped so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 4

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a convergent/divergent inlet air passage having a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage and extending from said flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner formed at the upstream leading edge of said flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream, said expansion corner being defined by a pair of transverse panels hingedly interconnected to one another and to the respective adjacent upstream and downstream aircraft structure; (d) means for flexing said pair of expansion corner defining panels so as to selectively vary the angle of said expansion corner as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft and to thereby vary the turning angle of the airstream and the expansion characteristics of the inlet; (e) said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage being shaped so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 5

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 2 wherein said pair of expansion corner defining panels are air permeable, and means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surfaces of said panels.

Claim 6

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 2 wherein means are provided for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 7

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, and means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage.

Claim 8

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage, and further including means for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 9

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least certain of the surfaces defining said expansion corner and said convergent portion of said passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent said air permeable surfaces, and means are provided for increasing the pressure of said removed low energy boundary layer air to levels greater than freestream static pressure.

Claim 10

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a two-dimensional convergent/divergent inlet air passage having generally parallel sidewalls, a series of upper interconnected transverse panels defining the upper wall of said passage, a series of lower interconnected transverse panels defining the lower wall of said passage, and a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage, with said passage extending from said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner defining an adjustable cant angle formed at the upstream leading edge of said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream; (d) means for adjusting said expansion corner cant angle during inflight operation as a function of the actual Mach number at which the supersonic aircraft is operating for inflight optimization of said supersonic air inlet; (e) said interconnected transverse upper ramps in said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent passage being angularly related to one another and positioned so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 11

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a two-dimensional convergent/divergent inlet air passage having generally parallel sidewalls, a series of upper interconnected transverse panels defining the upper wall of said passage, a series of lower interconnected transverse panels defining the lower wall of said passage, and a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage, with said passage extending from said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner defining an adjustable cant angle formed at the upstream leading edge of said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream; (d) means for adjusting said expansion corner cant angle during inflight operation as a function of the actual Mach number at which the supersonic aircraft is operating for inflight optimization of said supersonic air inlet; (e) said interconnected transverse upper ramps in said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent passage being angularly related to one another and positioned so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 12

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a two-dimensional convergent/divergent inlet air passage having generally parallel sidewalls, a series of upper interconnected transverse panels defining the upper wall of said passage, a series of lower interconnected transverse panels defining the lower wall of said passage, and a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage, with said passage extending from said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner formed at the upstream leading edge of said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream, said expansion corner being defined by a pair of transverse panels hingedly interconnected to one another and to the respective adjacent upstream and downstream aircraft structure; (d) means for flexing said pair of expansion corner defining panels so as to selectively vary the angle of said expansion corner as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft and to thereby vary the turning angle of the airstream and the expansion characteristics of the inlet; (e) said interconnected transverse upper ramps in said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent passage being angularly related to one another and positioned so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 13

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage for supersonic aircraft of the type having a jet propulsion engine, comprising, in combination: (a) a two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet formed in the surface of the aircraft body; (b) a two-dimensional convergent/divergent inlet air passage having generally parallel sidewalls, a series of upper interconnected transverse panels defining the upper wall of said passage, a series of lower interconnected transverse panels defining the lower wall of said passage, and a throat at the juncture of the convergent and divergent portions of said passage, with said passage extending from said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet to the jet propulsion engine inlet; (c) an expansion corner formed at the upstream leading edge of said two-dimensional flush mounted air inlet for turning the external airstream into said inlet and passage and expanding and accelerating the thus redirected airstream, said expansion corner being defined by a pair of transverse panels hingedly interconnected to one another and to the respective adjacent upstream and downstream aircraft structure; (d) means for flexing said pair of expansion corner defining panels so as to selectively vary the angle of said expansion corner as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft and to thereby vary the turning angle of the airstream and the expansion characteristics of the inlet; (e) said interconnected transverse upper ramps in said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent passage being angularly related to one another and positioned so as to generate a series of weak shock waves as the expanded and thus accelerated airstream moves towards said throat for progressively decelerating said airstream from supersonic velocities to at least transonic velocity at said throat; and, (f) said divergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage serving to further decelerate said airstream from transonic velocity to subsonic velocity as said airstream moves from said throat to the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 14

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 9 wherein said pair of expansion corner defining panels are air permeable, and means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surfaces of said expansion corner defining panels.

Claim 15

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 9 wherein means are provided for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 16

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 9 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, and means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage.

Claim 17

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 9 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage, and further including means for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 18

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 9 wherein at least certain of the surfaces defining said expansion corner and said convergent portion of said passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent said air permeable surfaces, and means are provided for increasing the pressure of said removed low energy boundary layer air to levels greater than freestream static pressure.

Claim 19

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 1 wherein means are provided for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 20

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, and means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage.

Claim 21

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage, and further including means for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 22

A flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least certain of the surfaces defining said expansion corner and said convergent portion of said passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent said air permeable surfaes, and means are provided for increasing the pressure of said removed low energy boundary layer air to levels greater than freestream static pressure.

Claim 23

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 8 wherein means are provided for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 24

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 8 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, and means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage.

Claim 25

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 8 wherein at least portions of said convergent portion of said convergent/divergent air passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent the exposed surface of said convergent portion of said passage, and further including means for varying the geometry of said convergent/divergent inlet air passage as a function of the altitude and speed of the aircraft so as to optimize the geometry of said passage for producing a series of relatively weak shock waves suitable for decelerating the airstream from supersonic velocity at said air inlet to subsonic velocity at the jet propulsion engine inlet.

Claim 26

A two-dimensional flush supersonic air inlet and convergent/divergent inlet air passage as set forth in claim 8 wherein at least certain of the surfaces defining said expansion corner and said convergent portion of said passage are air permeable, means are provided for removing low energy boundary layer air adjacent said air permeable surfaces, and means are provided for increasing the pressure of said removed low energy boundary layer air to levels greater than freestream static pressure.