Drone Drag Reduction using Aerodynamic Design

A duct for reducing drag on objects moving through fluids, comprising a smooth or grooved tube running through the object from front to rear, with a diameter between 0.5% and 5% of the object's diameter, and internal surfaces designed to maintain laminar flow at high speeds.

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A system for reducing drag and enhancing lift on lift-generating bodies, such as wings, by creating a low-pressure area at the tip through vortex interaction. The system features suction holes or slots connected to a plenum and an ellipsoid dome, which creates a pressure gradient that forms a vortex core. The core moves onto the upper surface, generating a low-pressure area that can be regulated through a valve system.

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A winged aircraft with a simplified flight control system that uses compressed air blowing to modify lift and drag. The aircraft includes a tank and a blowing member that directs a flow of compressed air towards the wing's air flow zone to control roll, pitch, and yaw movements. The blowing member can be positioned upstream or downstream of the leading edge, and can be configured to eject air at the wing tip. The system eliminates the need for traditional flight control surfaces, reducing drag and weight while enabling remote or autonomous control.

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Vertical takeoff and landing drone with morphing wings that can change shape to improve stability and maneuverability in windy conditions. The drone has wings that can dynamically adjust their area during flight to compensate for crosswinds and use wind currents for assistance. This allows reducing energy consumption compared to fixed wing drones with a compromise between hover and flight performance. The wing shape variation is controlled by servos to symmetrically or asymmetrically change the wing area based on wind direction. This allows reducing drag in headwinds, increasing lift in tailwinds, and leveraging wind currents for yaw control.

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Aircraft with aerodynamic control using winglet surfaces, particularly for blended wing body aircraft where conventional control surfaces are impractical. The winglets incorporate control surfaces at their trailing edges, which are actuated by a controller to provide roll, pitch, and yaw control. The winglet control surfaces can be independently controlled to achieve precise control of the aircraft.

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An airplane with reduced induced drag, comprising an elongated fuselage, two nacelles arranged on either side of the fuselage, and two wings arranged on either side of the fuselage. The nacelles form auxiliary wings with positive lift, and the stabilizers form secondary wings with negative lift. The auxiliary and secondary wings interact to cancel or significantly reduce the intensity of marginal vortices, thereby reducing induced drag.

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Aerial towed platform for drones with a flat plate airfoil design that achieves high lift-to-drag ratios and enables efficient solar-powered flight. The platform features a pivotally connected flat plate airfoil with a rounded leading edge and a distributed load, which is propelled by a forward joint and a propulsor. The design enables robust and efficient flight, particularly for solar-powered aircraft, and can be used in combination with hybrid electric-fuel engines and VTOL drones.

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A VTOL hexrotor aircraft with a canard configuration for distributed propulsion. The aircraft features six rotors, with two forward rotors mounted on top of canard pylons, two middle rotors on wing pylons, and two aft rotors on wing pylons that tilt down for hover mode. All rotors are mounted in a concentric circle around the aircraft's center of gravity, providing equal spacing and redundancy for control. The configuration enables both hover and cruise modes, with the aft rotors tilting between positions for transition.

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A supersonic aircraft system that dynamically adjusts aircraft shape to trade drag for sonic boom suppression. The system deploys active surfaces to modify the aircraft's nose, fuselage, wings, and tail sections to minimize sonic boom over restricted terrain, while retracting these surfaces to optimize drag over unrestricted terrain. A real-time flight management controller determines the optimal aircraft configuration based on terrain restrictions and adjusts the aircraft shape accordingly.

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A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a foldable fixed wing and twin-ducted fan power system. The ducted fans provide stability against crosswinds during vertical takeoff and landing, while the foldable wing reduces frontal area and enhances anti-wind capability. During horizontal flight, the wing expands to generate lift. The system employs electric power and a lithium battery energy source.

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A method and apparatus for reducing fluid drag and enhancing heat transfer in vehicles, vessels, and aircraft. The method involves applying surface-attached devices that produce turbulence with minimal separation, creating a stable, counter-rotating vortex structure that extends along the surface and promotes downward fluid motion. The devices can be used to reduce drag, improve heat exchange, and delay stall characteristics in various applications, including turbine blades, propellers, and control surfaces.

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A ring-wing fan engine that increases lift and improves energy efficiency by combining a ring-wing with an outer duct shell. The duct shell is modified to create a wing-like shape that generates lift, while the ring-wing provides additional lift and stability. This design enables vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, and can be applied to both ducted UAVs and conventional turbofan engines.

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A method for reducing drag and increasing stability in vehicles and objects with wings by positioning the wing's root leading edge as far back as possible, with the root trailing edge located at or behind the fuselage trailing edge. This configuration enables the vehicle or object to achieve maximum streamlining and drag reduction, resulting in improved stability and aerodynamic performance.

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A hinged wing design for multirotor drones that enables detachable wing attachment while maintaining aerodynamic performance. The wing integrates with existing multirotor drone frames through a hinged structure, allowing it to be easily mounted and removed. This design addresses limitations of existing multirotor wing attachments, such as mechanical pivoting mechanisms and wing attachment points, by providing a continuous, integral wing system. The hinged wing configuration enables quick and secure attachment while maintaining aerodynamic performance, while the integrated design eliminates drag from attachment points.

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A missile or aircraft with a hierarchical closed-loop flow control system for enhanced aerodynamic control, maneuverability, and stabilization. The system comprises multiple airflow control zones on the aerodynamic surface, each with a local closed-loop control system and a global control system to coordinate the local control systems. The local control systems utilize sensors and active flow control devices to control airflow phenomena such as flow separation and reattachment, while the global control system integrates the local control systems to achieve overall aerodynamic performance.

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A device for reducing aerodynamic drag in aerospace systems, comprising a hollow structure with an optimized external contour for minimum drag, and internal chambers containing fuels that auto-ignite or react to produce hot gases. The device injects these hot gases into the airflow around the vehicle through nozzles, achieving drag reduction through both shape optimization and heat/energy addition. The device can be retrofitted to existing vehicles or integrated into new designs, and its performance is optimized for various flight conditions.

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An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with improved efficiency and reduced noise, featuring a rotor blade with miniature vortex generators. The vortex generators, strategically placed along the upper surface of the rotor blade, generate flow vortices that enhance energy exchange between the boundary layer and mainstream flow, delaying separation and reducing noise. The miniature size of the vortex generators allows for integration into existing rotor blade designs, while their optimized height range ensures effective flow control without excessive drag.

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Retractable flaps for vehicles and objects that can deflect to generate lift or drag and then retract flush with the surrounding surface to minimize drag and improve aerodynamics. The flaps are designed to operate in the same functionality as traditional flaps but with the added benefit of retractability, allowing them to be hidden when not in use and reducing turbulence and drag. The flaps can be used for steering, trajectory adjustment, and braking on a wide range of vehicles including aircraft, spacecraft, watercraft, and projectiles.

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Microstructure drag reduction film for unmanned aerial vehicle rotors that enhances aerodynamic performance through precise, sharp grooves. The film features micro-scale, precisely engineered grooves with sharp peaks that maximize drag reduction while minimizing film thickness. The manufacturing process employs a novel extrusion roll forming method that enables precise control over groove dimensions and shape, particularly for achieving optimal peak profiles.

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Adjustable fairings for aerial vehicle components that reduce aerodynamic drag in multiple flight configurations. The fairings are movably coupled to motors, motor arms, and other structural components, and can move or rotate based on airflow to minimize drag. This enables improved control and safety of aerial vehicles in various flight orientations.

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