An aeronautical teacher from Ile de France has developed a new winglet which he believes could offer an improved solution to the problem of turbulence caused by wake vortices.
Christian Hugues has patented the Minix winglet (Hall 5B, stand F11) and claims it can save lives while increasing speed, reducing fuel consumption and allowing aircraft to carry more weight.
The problem of wake vortices is well established and is a key factor in airspace management because of the time separation required to avoid potentially serious turbulence.
Made of Kevlar and carbon, the Minix winglet is solid but light and is fixed to the length of a wing tip.
"Winglets which reduce vortex pressure around wings already exist," says Christian. "But Minix doesn't reduce the vortex, instead it gets rid of it." The discovery comes after 22 prototypes and more than eight years of study.
Innovation
Minix works on the principle that the vortex will hit the wing at exactly the same distance from its tip as the measurement of thickness of the wing. It is designed to allow the vortex to escape through slits in its tube-like body as pressure increases. The result, the vortex dissipates into a linear flow through an opening at the back of the winglet.
"This is the first time anyone has discovered how to create a linear flow which destroys the vortex," says Hugues. "Often an innovation seems really simple once it has been discovered. In the end, the results count."
Source: Flight Daily News
