Deployable Engine Air-Brake for Drag Management Applications

ATA Engineering, Inc., (ATA) proposes a Phase II SBIR program to demonstrate an innovative engine air-brake (EAB) technology that uses a deployable swirl vane mechanism to switch the operation of a turbofan engine nozzle from a conventional mode to a "drag management" mode. Equivalent drag (via thrust reduction) results from the strong radial pressure gradient created by swirl vanes that are aerodynamically "invisible" during conventional operation and introduced during a drag management maneuver. Such "drag on demand" enables operational benefits such as slower, steeper, and/or aeroacoustically cleaner flight on approach, addressing NASA's need for active and passive control of aeroacoustic noise sources for conventional and advanced aircraft configurations. In Phase I ATA successfully designed an integrated vane-nozzle for a NASA high bypass ratio nozzle. To advance the technology readiness level (TRL) , ATA has formed a partnership with Williams International (WI), a manufacturer of small jet engines and industry leader in the small business jet market. The ATA/WI team will apply the Phase I design approach to the WI FJ44-4 mixed flow turbofan which is selected as a demonstration test article to move the TRL to 5–6 by the end Phase II.