Wings That Waggle 'Could Cut Aircraft Emissions'

摘要

Aircraft wings that redirect air to waggle sideways could reduce airline fuel bills by 20 per cent, according to research in the United Kingdom. The new approach, which promises to cut mid-flight drag dramatically, uses tiny air-powered jets that redirect the air, making it flow sideways back and forward over the wing. The jets work by the Helmholtz resonance principle: when air is forced into a cavity, the pressure increases and forces air out and sucks it back in again, causing an oscillation - the same phenomenon that happens when a person blows over a bottle.