Composite hat stiffener

A composite structure, comprising:

• a composite skin;
• and
• a plurality of hat stiffeners affixed to the composite skin, each of the plurality of hat stiffeners comprising;
• a hat cap having a planar hat cap section along a linear portion of the hat cap,
• a plurality of hat flanges along the planar hat cap section, each of the plurality of flanges being planar, and
• a hat web extending between the planar hat cap section and a selected one of the plurality of flanges, the hat web including:
• a first planar web section at a first location along the planar hat cap section, the first planar web section extending from the planar hat cap section to the selected one of the plurality of hat flanges and having a first slope, and
• a second planar web section at a second location along the planar hat cap section, the second planar web section extending from the planar hat cap section to the selected one of the plurality of hat flanges and having a second slope, wherein the second slope is greater than the first slope such that the plurality of hat stiffeners has a first internal width corresponding to the first slope and a second internal width corresponding to the second slope along the linear portion of the hat cap.

A hat stiffener, comprising:

• a hat cap having a central axis that is linear and having a planar hat cap section;
• a hat flange extending parallel to the hat cap along the planar hat cap section;
• and
• a hat web intersecting the planar hat cap section at a first end and intersecting the hat flange at a second end, the hat web including:
• a first planar web section at a first cross-section of the hat stiffener at a first position along the planar hat cap section, the first planar web section extending from the planar hat cap section to the hat flange and having a first slope corresponding to a first constant gradient of the hat web from the first end to the second end, and
• a second planar web section at a second cross-section of the hat stiffener at a second position along the planar hat cap section, the second planar web section extending from the planar hat cap section to the hat flange and having a second slope corresponding to a second constant gradient of the hat web from the first end to the second end, wherein the second slope is greater than the first slope.