Abstract: A method of conditioning a flow of fluid comprises the steps of introducing a fluid into a nozzle body having an opening defining an inlet, an opening defining an outlet, and an inner surface connecting the inlet and the outlet, directing the fluid introduced into the inlet of nozzle body over the inner surface, and applying a pressure to the fluid. The inner surface of the nozzle is asymmetric with respect to a centerline of the inlet to provide a first region outside the nozzle of relative maximum pressure and a second region outside the nozzle of relative minimum pressure, where the first and second regions are substantially the same distance from the outlet. A fluid-conditioning nozzle comprises an inlet having an edge defining a first circumference, an outlet, offset from and spaced apart from the inlet, having an edge defining a second circumference, smaller than the first circumference, and a transition surface extending between the inlet and the outlet.

Abstract: The deployment mechanism comprises three identical operative assemblies mounted on a fixed main frame. Each operative assembly comprises a linear actuator and first and second links disposed in such a manner as to ensure self-locking in a deployed position by causing the axes of the following three hinges to pass to or slightly beyond a dead point where they are in alignment: the hinge between the main frame and a first zone of the first link; the hinge between the upstream end of the second link and a second zone of the first link; and the hinge between the downstream end of the second link and a link support mounted on the deployable portion of the nozzle. The actuator is secured and anchored to a non-deployable portion of the nozzle and it includes a drive member whose free end is hinged to a third zone of the first link, and it is deactivated in both of the final positions, i.e. when the deployable portion is deployed and when it is retracted.