{
  "patent_number": "US 11827373",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Boeing Shortens Engine Exhaust Fairings to Save Weight",
  "original_title": "Aircraft engine exhaust systems enabling reduced length aft strut fairings",
  "summary": "A design for aircraft engine exhaust systems that allows the protective fairing behind the engine to be shorter, reducing weight and drag.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a way to shorten the aft strut fairing—the aerodynamic cover that sits behind the jet engine on an aircraft wing. By precisely aligning the heat shield so it ends exactly where the engine's exhaust nozzle ends, the design eliminates the need for extra shielding further back. It uses specific pressure regions (1.3 Pbar vs 0.85-1.2 Pbar) at the nozzle outlet to create an aerodynamic barrier, preventing hot engine exhaust from flowing into the gap between the engine and the fairing. This allows the fairing to be physically shorter without risking heat damage to the aircraft structure.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover exhaust systems where the heat shield extends downstream past the nozzle trailing edge.",
    "Does not cover fairings that include heat shielding on the surface located downstream from the nozzle outlet.",
    "Does not cover engine designs that do not utilize the specific pressure differential described to prevent exhaust flow into the fairing gap."
  ],
  "filed": "2019-09-27",
  "granted": "2023-11-28",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Boeing Co",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/boeing-co",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "David F. Cerra",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/david-f-cerra"
    },
    {
      "name": "Abhishek Sahay",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/abhishek-sahay"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "aerospace",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "Aircraft engine exhaust systems enabling short aft fairings are described. An example turbofan engine exhaust system of an aircraft includes a primary nozzle having a leading edge and a trailing edge, and a heat shield coupled to an aft strut fairing. The heat shield has an upstream end and a downstream end. The downstream end of the heat shield is substantially coterminous with the trailing edge of the primary nozzle.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11827373/starship-tanker-variant",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11827373/starship-tanker-variant/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11827373",
  "relatedPatents": []
}