Overview
Jet deflection systems are important to define novel concepts of air vehicle with enhanced performances, manoeuvrability shorter take off and landing spaces: It will permit to explore radical new concept of aerial vehicle and to give a realization to some very advanced concepts which have been intuited during the history of aviation but couldn't be applied because of the absence of effective and affordable jet vectoring system. The main importance of an effective and affordable system to control the direction of a propulsive jet can be, interesting because it could lead to two directions of aeronautic design development:
- improving performance, safety, efficiency and manoeuvrability of today air vehicle concepts;
- defining future air vehicle designs, which include innovative concepts such as control without vertical empennages and reduction of mobile ailerons, and innovative aerodynamic concepts which requires directional control of propulsive jets;
- analyze most efficient and environmental friendly aircraft model based on distributed propulsion systems and on novel propulsive concepts;
- investigating novel aerial vehicle concepts which are optimized to enhance and maximize the possibilities which are guaranteed by similar technologies;
- exploring novel aerial vehicle guidance model and, in particular, novel trajectories, novel manoeuvring models such as vector flight and most efficient aerodynamic configurations;
- experiencing novel propulsive which can reduce the emission greenhouse gasses such as electrical turbofan, which can be alimented by renewable or photovoltaic electricity.
The project will be integrating two project concepts: HOMER and PEACE. The integration of HOMER nozzle concept with an active control system such as PEACE can have a disruptive potential of innovation. HOMER overcomes the traditional limitations of common Coanda effect Nozzles with an active enhancement and control of adhesion by control jet. PEACE introduces instead an effective low cost control system and easily to integrate control system which can introduce a more effective governability of the system.
The ACHEON thrust vectoring propulsive concept can produce a wide possibility of future and innovative air-crafts concepts with enhanced capabilities which could shorten take-off and landing spaces, enhance manoeuvrability, explore new concepts such as diffused propulsion systems or more radical solutions for future aeronautic transport. The ACHEON Project aims to study the system and its components in a full structured systemic approach:
- To define:
- the system and its control methodology identifying it possible intrinsic limits and defining exactly fields of applications
- control equations of the system as a function of both geometric and physical parameters
- system design methods which could help to obtain better results on different sizes and architectures
- To explore the feasibility of:
- applications to traditional aerial vehicles architectures
- applications to innovative aerial vehicle designs such as distributed propulsion
- innovative aircraft optimized for thrust vectoring.
The ACHEON project explores a novel propulsive system for aircrafts which overcome the main limitations of traditional systems introducing effective and affordable vectored jet aerial propulsion with no part in movement. The project aims to overcome well known limits related to commonly known jet deflection system. The ACHEON system is based on the cumulated effects of three physical effects:
- High speed jet mixing effects
- Coanda effect of adhesion of an high speed jet to a convex surface
- Coanda effect control by Electrostatic fields.
The strengths of the ACHEON concept are:
- Affordability: the deflection of the jet is realized without any moving part
- Simple controls: the angle formed by the jet and the nozzle axis can be regulated by varying the velocity of two incoming jets
- Precision: the Plasma Dischargers ensures an optimal control of jet attachment to the Coanda surfaces
- Possibility to be alimented by streams of any nature
Funding
Results
Flight made comfortable via propulsion
Your next flight could be with shorter take-off and landing thanks to a breakthrough propulsion technology developed by an EU-funded project for green air transport.
The EU-funded project http://acheon.eu/ (ACHEON) (Aerial Coanda high efficiency orienting-jet nozzle) produced a system that will significantly impact industrial innovation. Four universities, one technology transfer organisation together with a research-intensive small to medium-sized enterprise developed a new technology that overcomes the limitations of traditional propulsion systems.
The main advantage of the ACHEON system is its ability to produce thrust without the movement of mechanical parts by exploiting fluid dynamic effects. Specifically, the new concept is based on the combination of a high-speed orienting momentum with enhanced reversibility (HOMER) nozzle and a plasma enhanced actuator for Coanda effect (PEACE).
The HOMER nozzle is designed to utilise its own geometry to control the direction of a synthetic jet created by the mixture of two high speed air streams. It is exploiting the tendency of a fluid jet to adhere to a curved surface because of the reduced pressure produced by high velocity. The principle is named after the Romanian aerodynamics pioneer Henri Coanda that recognised its practical applications in aircraft design.
The PEACE actuator ensures active control of Coanda adhesion using dielectric barrier discharge technology. When high voltage (of several kilovolts) is applied to two electrodes – one exposed to the air and the other fully covered by a dielectric material – air in the proximity of the surface is accelerated.
Different air vehicle architectures were tested and validated through computational fluid dynamics simulations. The most promising solutions were then implemented to obtain operational experience. In particular, various nozzle designs were tested to demonstrate that a propulsion system with direction control of the air jet is realisable.
A very advanced concept that was intuited more than a century ago couldn't be applied because of the absence of an effective jet vectoring system. With the funding of the ACHEON project, researchers explored a radically new propulsion concept and proved its viability. Although the ACHEON system can be utilised with current jet technologies, it is expected to be the enabling technology for all-electric aircraft in the near future.