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US 12,371,145 B2Granted
Duct stringer assembly with bulkhead
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorsAnthony Bryant, Peter Muscat
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A duct stringer assembly with a bulkhead. The duct stringer assembly has duct walls providing a duct with a closed cross-section. The duct is adapted to transport fluid. A bulkhead is in the duct, and the bulkhead is adapted to block the flow of fluid along the duct. The bulkhead has a bulkhead body, and a gasket sealing a gap between the bulkhead body and the duct walls.
Claims20
An aircraft duct stringer assembly comprising:
- a duct stringer comprising a structural member and a duct member, wherein:
- the structural member has a hat-shaped cross-section, which comprises a crown, a pair of webs, and a pair of feet;
- the duct member provides duct walls that fully enclose a duct with a closed cross-section, wherein the duct is configured to transport fluid;
- a vent opening is formed in the duct member, wherein the vent opening is formed only in the crown of the structural member and in the duct wall of the duct member that is against the crown of the structural member, and
- wherein the vent opening has a vent opening edge;
- and
- a bulkhead in a portion of the duct member, in which the duct is fully enclosed by the duct walls, the bulkhead comprising:
- a bulkhead body;
- a shoulder that protrudes from the bulkhead body;
- and
- a gasket sealing a gap between the bulkhead body and the duct walls;
- wherein the bulkhead body is insertable through the vent opening formed in the crown of the structural member and into the duct;
- wherein a plurality of fasteners are mounted through the duct walls to fixedly engage with the bulkhead;
- wherein, when the bulkhead is within the duct, the shoulder is configured to abut the vent opening edge at a first end portion of the vent opening edge to locate the bulkhead body, from which the shoulder protrudes, at the first end portion of the vent opening edge;
- and
- wherein, when the bulkhead is within the duct, the bulkhead is configured to block a flow of fluid along the duct.
13 more elements
A method of assembling an aircraft duct stringer assembly, the method comprising:
- providing a duct stringer comprising a structural member and a duct member, wherein:
- the structural member has a hat-shaped cross-section, which comprises a crown, a pair of webs, and a pair of feet;
- the duct member provides duct walls that fully enclose a duct with a closed cross-section, the duct being for transporting fluid;
- forming a vent opening in the duct member, wherein the vent opening is formed only in the crown of the structural member and in the duct wall of the duct member that is against the crown of the structural member, and wherein the vent opening has a vent opening edge;
- and
- after the vent opening has been formed, inserting a bulkhead in a portion of the duct member, in which the duct is fully enclosed by the duct walls, wherein the bulkhead comprises:
- a bulkhead body;
- a shoulder that protrudes from the bulkhead body;
- and
- a gasket;
- wherein the bulkhead body is insertable through the vent opening formed in the crown of the structural member and into the duct;
- wherein a plurality of fasteners are mounted through the duct walls to fixedly engage with the bulkhead;
- and
- when the bulkhead is within the duct, abutting the shoulder of the bulkhead against the vent opening edge at a first end portion of the vent opening edge to locate the shoulder, as well as the bulkhead body from which the shoulder protrudes, at the first end portion of the vent opening edge, so the gasket seals a gap between the bulkhead body and the duct walls to block a flow of fluid along the duct.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.