Apparatus and method for manipulating a body in a fluid
US6029519A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 29, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 29, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 29, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01M10/00
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus for testing hydrodynamic performance characteristics of an object is operative for remotely manipulating the object using standing acoustic wave fields. The object is provided with a plurality of internal solid ies, each having a region of ordered voids. The object is placed in a fluid flow tunnel, and standing wave fields are propagated through the fluid by means of transducers mounted on the walls of the tunnel. The wave fields align the ordered voids in the solid bodies, and the alignment forces are transmitted to the bodies resulting in movement of the object. Matching pairs of transducers can be employed to create movement in roll, pitch, and yaw directions. Once a static position of the object is established by adjusting the power levels of the various transducers, movement of the object is accomplished by introducing ordered frequency shifts into the wave fields, or by physically moving the positions of the transducers relative to the object. Drag measurements can be calculated from the different transducer power levels required to maintain a static position of the object under varying fluid flow conditions and object orientations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.