Low Drag Nacelle and Pylon Fairing
A low drag nacelle and pylon fairing for an aircraft includes a fairing configured to provide a low drag connection between a pylon and a nacelle. The fairing includes an aft-facing face formed between the nacelle and a trailing edge of the pylon with the aft-facing face being configured with a vent for exhausting air in the same direction as engine jet exhaust flow. The fairing includes aerodynamically formed curves providing a larger aft-facing face compared with traditional fairing arrangements. A substantial improvement in drag reduction is achieved by venting air into the space immediately beyond the aft-facing face.
1 . A low drag nacelle and pylon fairing for an aircraft comprising:
a fairing having an aft-facing façade, wherein the fairing is configured to aerodynamically couple an engine nacelle to a trailing edge of a pylon; and
a vent disposed in the aft-facing façade, wherein the vent is configured to exhaust air into a space aft of the fairing, wherein the exhaust is directionally parallel with exhaust flow from the engine.
2 . The low drag nacelle and pylon fairing of claim 1 wherein the vent is configured to exhaust air from an aircraft system heat exchanger.
3 . The low drag nacelle and pylon fairing of claim 1 wherein the aft-facing façade is adjacent to the trailing edge of the pylon, and a shape of the aft-facing façade comprises a continuous curvature configured to smoothly connect with the trailing edge.
4 . The low drag nacelle and pylon fairing of claim 1 wherein the fairing has a first vertex, a second vertex, and a third vertex, wherein the first vertex and the second vertex provide a smooth connection to the engine nacelle and the third vertex provides a smooth connection to the trailing edge of the pylon.
5 . The low drag nacelle and pylon fairing of claim 4 comprising a first side extending between the first vertex and the second vertex, wherein the first side conforms to a curved profile of the engine nacelle.
6 . The low drag nacelle and pylon fairing of claim 1 wherein the fairing is fabricated from aluminum or a carbon composite.
7 . The low drag nacelle pylon fairing of claim 1 , wherein the pylon is mounted on an aft portion of a fuselage of an aircraft.
8 . The low drag nacelle pylon fairing of claim 1 , wherein the fairing comprises shape having smooth continuous curvature configured to maintain a boundary layer of airflow attached to a surface of the fairing thereby reducing aerodynamic drag.
9 . The low drag nacelle pylon fairing of claim 1 , wherein the vent is disposed substantially in a center of the aft-facing façade.
10 . The low drag nacelle pylon fairing of claim 1 , wherein the vent comprises a substantially trapezoidal geometry configured to fit a shape of the aft-facing façade.
11 . A method for exhausting air from a fairing for reducing airflow separation about the fairing during flight of an aircraft, the method comprising:
providing a vent on a face of a fairing, wherein the fairing aerodynamically couples an engine nacelle to a trailing edge of a pylon and the face is aft-facing;
exhausting air from the vent, wherein the air is exhausted directionally parallel with an airstream during flight of an aircraft.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein exhausting air comprises exhausting air from an aircraft system heat exchanger.
13 . The method of claim 11 wherein exhausting air from the vent maintains boundary layer airflow on the fairing and reduces airflow separation thereby reducing aerodynamic drag.
14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein exhausting air from the vent substantially reduces airflow separation on a bottom surface of the pylon compared to a vent located on the bottom surface of the pylon.
15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein exhausting air from the vent comprises exhausting air directionally parallel with engine exhaust from a jet engine nozzle.