초록 ▼

A solid-fuel pellet thrust and control actuation system (PT-CAS) provides command authority for maneuvering flight vehicles over subsonic and supersonic speeds and within the atmosphere and exo-atmosphere. The PT-CAS includes a chamber or solid-fuel pellets that are ignited to expel gas through a th

A solid-fuel pellet thrust and control actuation system (PT-CAS) provides command authority for maneuvering flight vehicles over subsonic and supersonic speeds and within the atmosphere and exo-atmosphere. The PT-CAS includes a chamber or solid-fuel pellets that are ignited to expel gas through a throat. The expelled gas is directed at supersonic vehicle speeds in atmosphere to a cavity between an aero control surface and the airframe to pressurize the cavity and deploy the surface or at subsonic speeds in atmosphere or any speed in exo-atmosphere allowed to flow out a through-hole in the surface where the throat and through-hole provide a virtual converging/diverging nozzle to produce a supersonic divert thrust. A pellet and control actuation system (P-CAS) without the through-hole provides command authority at supersonic speeds in atmosphere. A restrictor mechanism controls the bleed of pressurized gas from the cavity to the external environment to achieve a deployment time objective for either the PT-CAS or P-CAS.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A control actuation system (CAS) for providing command authority to maneuver an air vehicle through a free stream in an external environment, comprising: an airframe;at least one aerodynamic control surface on the airframe pivotable about a pivot point between a retracted position out of the free

1. A control actuation system (CAS) for providing command authority to maneuver an air vehicle through a free stream in an external environment, comprising: an airframe;at least one aerodynamic control surface on the airframe pivotable about a pivot point between a retracted position out of the free stream and deployed positions in the free stream flowing past the airfame to provide drag that maneuvers the airframe;a cavity positioned aft of the pivot point between an all section of the control surface and the airframe;a restrictor mechanism;a chamber in said airframe, said chamber including one or more propellant chambers;a throat in said airframe that couples the chamber to the cavity;one or more solid-fuel pellets in each said propellant chamber;an ignition system disposed to ignite the solid-fuel pellets in one or more propellant chambers to expel gas that flows through the throat into the cavity to pressurize the cavity and actuate the control surface to a deployed position, said restrictor mechanism providing a controlled bleed of gas from the cavity to the external environment in said deployed position. 2. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the CAS includes no moving parts except the aerodynamic control surface and the restrictor mechanism. 3. The CAS of claim 1, wherein at least 60% of the mass of the solid-fuel pellets is guanidine nitrate and basic copper nitrate. 4. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pellets are produced in lots having a lot size substantially larger than the quantity required for a single CAS and tested by lot sampling. 5. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the restrictor mechanism bleeds gas from the cavity if an angle of deployment exceeds a threshold angle. 6. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the restrictor mechanism bleeds gas from the cavity at a variable rate as angle of deployment increases. 7. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the restrictor mechanism comprises an endplate coupled to a trailing edge of the control surface, said endplate having one or more vents therein. 8. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the gas bled from the cavity pressurizes a: base region of the airframe to reduce vehicle base drag. 9. The CAS of claim 1, further comprising: a fabric bag disposed in said cavity and coupled to the throat so that the gas inflates the bag to deploy the control surface, said fabric having a porosity that forms the restrictor mechanism to control the bleed of gas from the cavity. 10. The CAS of claim 1, wherein the control surface includes a recess in its aft section that defines said cavity. 11. The CAS of claim 1, wherein a recess in the air frame defines said cavity. 12. The CAS of claim 1, wherein at least one pair of said aerodynamic control surfaces are positioned on the airframe opposite each other, each control surface including a roll control port oriented to bleed gas from the cavity in a circumferential direction when the pair of opposite aerodynamic control surfaces are deployed to cause the vehicle to roll or to negate roll about its longitudinal axis. 13. The CAS of claim 1, further comprising: a through-hole in a fore section of the control surface above the throat, said throat and through-hole forming a virtual converging/diverging nozzle so that the expelled gas experiences a sonic transition as the gas flows through the throat. 14. The CAS of claim 13, wherein diameter of the through-hole is greater than the diameter of the throat. 15. The CAS of claim 13, wherein said virtual converging/diverging nozzle is configured so that at subsonic air vehicle speeds in atmosphere or any speed outside the atmosphere said nozzle ejects gas at supersonic speed producing a divert thrust to maneuver the airframe without deploying the control surface and at supersonic air vehicle speeds in atmosphere the expelled gas obstructs the free stream producing a shock that restricts gas flow from the nozzle directing at least a portion of the gas into the cavity to pressurize the cavity and deploy the control surface. 16. The CAS of claim 15, wherein the virtual converging/diverging nozzle is configured so that at an air vehicle speed of Mach 1 the exit pressure of the ejected gas exceeds the free stream total pressure by a threshold amount. 17. The CAS of claim 15, wherein the virtual converging/diverging nozzle is configured so that at air vehicle speeds in a transition region between approximately Mach 1 and a higher supersonic threshold both divert thrust and surface deployment combine to maneuver the airframe and above the supersonic threshold the divert thrust is approximately zero. 18. The CAS of claim 15, further comprising: a controller that issues a first command to the ignition system to ignite the solid-fuel pellets in one or more propellant chambers at a subsonic vehicle speed in Earth atmosphere to produce a first divert thrust to maneuver the airframe and issues a second command to the ignition system to ignite the solid-fuel pellets in one or more propellant chambers at a supersonic vehicle speed in Earth atmosphere to pressurize the cavity to deploy the control surface to maneuver the airframe. 19. The CAS of claim 18, wherein the controller issues a third command to the ignition system to ignite the solid-fuel pellets in one or more propellant chambers outside Earth atmosphere to produce a second divert thrust to maneuver the airframe. 20. A control actuation system (CAS) for providing command authority to maneuver an air vehicle through a free stream in an external environment, comprising: an airframe;at least one aerodynamic control surface on the airframe pivotable about a pivot point between a retracted position out of the free stream and deployed positions in the free stream flowing past the airfame to provide drag that maneuvers the airframe;a cavity positioned aft of the pivot point between an aft section of the control surface and the airframe;a restrictor mechanism coupled to the aft section of the control surface to provide a controlled bleed of gas from the cavity to the external environment in the deployed position;a chamber in said airframe, said chamber including one or more propellant chambers;a throat in said airframe that couples the chamber to the cavity;a through-hole in a fore section of the control surface above the throat, said throat and through-hole forming a virtual converging/diverging nozzleone or more solid-fuel pellets in each said propellant chamber;an ignition system disposed to ignite the solid-fuel pellets in one or more propellant chambers to expel gas that experiences a sonic transition as it flows through the throat; anda controller configured to issue first ignition commands to the ignition system so that the nozzle ejects gas at supersonic speed producing a divert thrust to maneuver the airframe without deploying the control surface and to issue second ignition commands to the ignition system so that the expelled gas obstructs the free stream producing a shock that restricts gas flow from the nozzle directing at least a portion of the gas into the cavity to pressurize the cavity and deploy the control surface. 21. The CAS of claim 20, wherein the CAS includes no moving parts except the aerodynamic control surface and the restrictor mechanism. 22. The CAS of claim 20, wherein at least 60% of the mass of the solid-fuel pellets is guanidine nitrate and basic copper nitrate. 23. The CAS of claim 20, wherein the plurality of pellets are produced in lots having a lot size substantially larger than the quantity required for a single CAS and tested by lot sampling. 24. The CAS of claim 20, wherein at least one pair of said aerodynamic control surfaces are positioned on the airframe opposite each other, each control surface including a roll control port oriented to bleed gas from the cavity in a circumferential direction when the pair of opposite aerodynamic control surfaces are deployed to cause the vehicle to roll or to negate roll about its longitudinal axis. 25. The CAS of claim 20, wherein said controller is configured to issue the first ignition commands at subsonic vehicle speeds in atmosphere or at any speed outside the atmosphere and to issue the second ignition commands at supersonic vehicle speeds in atmosphere. 26. The CAS of claim 25, wherein the virtual converging/diverging nozzle is configured so that at a vehicle speed of Mach 1 the exit pressure of the ejected gas exceeds the free stream total pressure by a threshold amount. 27. The CAS of claim 25, wherein the virtual converging/diverging nozzle is configured so that at air vehicle speeds in a transition region between approximately Mach 1 and a higher supersonic threshold both divert thrust and surface deployment combine to maneuver the airframe and above the supersonic threshold the divert thrust is approximately zero.