Modification of aerodynamic wing loads by fluidic devices

Airplane wing load control systems are designed for modification/redistribution of aerodynamic loads in order to decrease risk of structural damage in conditions of excessive loads, to improve passenger comfort in turbulent atmosphere or to act as flight control systems. Classical examples include systems involving symmetric deflections of ailerons reducing wing root bending moments (Lockheed C-5 Galaxy) or deflections of spoilers stabilizing landing approach path (Lockheed TriStar). The fast development of Micro Electromechanical Systems and their application in Flow Control System opens the perspectives of designing practical wing load control systems based on fluidic actuators, modifying local aerodynamic loads by inducing changes to flow, for example, by inducing flow separation in the boundary layer or modifying Kutta condition on the trailing edge. This is the principle of operation of novel concepts of flow control actuators proposed by Institute of Aviation and discussed in the paper. The systems include actuators in the central part of the wing section, reducing local lift similarly to classical spoilers and actuators on the modified trailing edge, acting similarly to ailerons. The potential advantages in comparison to classical devices include potentially shorter reaction time because of avoiding the necessity of moving large surfaces against high dynamic pressure, which is important in conditions of fast-changing loads in turbulent atmosphere.