Patents
Wing Box
Italian patent · Industrial invention patent
Italian patent no. 102021000015437 · filed 14 June 2021 · granted 20 July 2023 (UIBM). Holders: Teregroup and the inventors.
A structure that monitors its own condition
The wing box is the internal structure that carries the wing’s loads. Our patent equips it with optical fiber sensors embedded in the composite material and with a system that analyzes their signals in real time, so that the structure’s behavior is known at every moment and, if needed, the system can react. It belongs to the family of smart structures.
How it works
- FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) sensors: optical sensor networks within the composite thickness, detecting micro-strains, loads and temperature changes without electromagnetic interference.
- Real-time diagnostics (SHM): dedicated algorithms analyze the data to assess the state of the structure.
- Control and actuation: the control system drives a network of integrated actuators to respond to external stresses.
Status: patent granted. The acquisition and control system for the optical fiber sensors is the next development area.
Wing Box: Areas of Application
Aeronautics and drones
Wings and load-bearing surfaces made of composite material, including drones, to be monitored over time.
Space
Lightweight structures of satellites and space vehicles, where direct maintenance is difficult.
Other composite structures
For example wind turbine blades and pressure vessels, where knowing the condition of the structure supports maintenance.
Areas of interest under exploration, not applications already built.
Thermal Diode
Passive Control of Heat Flow
A thermal diode is the heat equivalent of an electrical diode: it lets heat flow more easily in one direction than in the opposite one (thermal rectification).
The device: a porous material whose porosity is graded along its length, exploiting how heat is carried inside the material at small scales (phonon transport, Knudsen effect). It has no moving parts and needs no electrical power.
What it is for: steering heat where it is wanted and limiting it where it is not, for example removing heat from a component while limiting the heat that comes back from the surroundings.
Italian patent
Granted
European patent
Accepted
US application
Under examination
Prototype and demonstrators
Under construction
Italian patent no. 102021000018074 · filed 9 July 2021 · granted 4 September 2023 (UIBM). Holders: Algamoil Green and the inventors. International application PCT/IB2022/062579, filed 21 December 2022 (search report of 9 June 2023). European application no. 22854520.8: the European Patent Office accepted the application, announcing its intention to grant the patent on 21 August 2026; the grant is in progress. The international application was extended to Europe and the United States; the US application is under examination.
Thermal Diode: Areas of Application
Calorimetry and detectors
Control of heat flow in instruments that measure heat and in detectors, where heat must move in one direction only.
Quantum computers
Heat management in very low-temperature circuits, such as those of qubits, where heat must not flow back to the component.
Information processing with heat
Circuits in which information is carried by heat instead of electricity, like a thermal computer: the thermal diode is a basic element, like the electrical diode, also in hybrid electrical and thermal systems.
Electronics and data centers
Removing heat from overheating components, such as a CPU, while limiting heat from nearby sources.
Aerospace and space
Managing heat in aircraft and spacecraft, where a passive device with no moving parts is an advantage.
Areas of interest under exploration, not applications already built.
Information and collaboration
For technical enquiries or collaboration proposals, write to us.