Aircraft Control Using Fluidic Maneuver Effectors

Abstract

Fluidic maneuver effectors provide the opportunity to produce the forces and moments required for flight vehicle trim and maneuvering without using conventional control surfaces. This paper defines the three saturation limits exhibited by fluidic controls. Two are due to geometry and effort/power constraints (similar to geometric issues) and the third type of saturation is due to shock induced separation at high jet Mach numbers. A case study aircraft is analyzed in order to see if the fluidic controls can provide trim/maneuver throughout the flight envelope. Engine bleed air is used for the pneumatic supply of the circulation control (CC) and fluidic thrust vectoring (FTV) effectors. It is shown that the critical flight conditions are climb turns and descending flight where geometric and effort/power saturation limits are met respectively.