Nacelle inlet assembly with acoustic panel
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorCharles William Rust
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An inlet assembly for a nacelle includes an inlet cowl and a plenum back wall of a fluid ice protection system (FIPS). The inlet cowl extends a length from a front end of the inlet cowl to a rear end of the inlet cowl. The inlet cowl includes a lipskin that defines a leading edge of the inlet cowl at the front end, and an acoustic panel coupled to the lipskin at an interface along an inner side of the inlet cowl. A seam is defined between the acoustic panel and the lipskin. The plenum back wall is affixed to an interior surface of the lipskin to define a plenum between the interior surface and a front surface of the plenum back wall. The plenum receives an anti-ice liquid. The plenum back wall is disposed in front of the seam along the length of the inlet cowl.
Claims20
An inlet assembly of a nacelle, the inlet assembly comprising:
- an inlet cowl that extends a length from a front end of the inlet cowl to a rear end of the inlet cowl, the inlet cowl including a lipskin that defines a leading edge of the inlet cowl at the front end, and an acoustic panel coupled to the lipskin along an inner side of the inlet cowl and defining a seam between a front end of the acoustic panel and the lipskin, wherein the acoustic panel is coupled to the lipskin via one or more fasteners that are spaced apart from an exterior surface of the lipskin and an exterior acoustic surface of the acoustic panel;
- and
- a plenum back wall of a fluid ice protection system (FIPS), the plenum back wall affixed to an interior surface of the lipskin to define a plenum between the interior surface and a front surface of the plenum back wall, the plenum configured to receive an anti-ice liquid, wherein the plenum back wall is disposed in front of the seam along the length of the inlet cowl.
A method of forming an inlet assembly of a nacelle, the method comprising:
- coupling an acoustic panel to a lipskin via one or more fasteners to define an inner side of an inlet cowl, the lipskin defining a leading edge of the inlet cowl, the inner side of the inlet cowl extending a length from the leading edge to a rear end of the acoustic panel, wherein a seam is defined between a front end of the acoustic panel and the lipskin, wherein the one or more fasteners are spaced apart from an exterior surface of the lipskin and an exterior acoustic surface of the acoustic panel;
- and
- securing a plenum back wall of a fluid ice protection system (FIPS) to an interior surface of the lipskin to define a plenum between the interior surface and a front surface of the plenum back wall, the plenum configured to receive an anti-ice liquid, wherein the plenum back wall is secured at a location in front of the seam along the length of the inner side of the inlet cowl.
An inlet assembly of a nacelle, the inlet assembly comprising:
- an inlet cowl that includes an acoustic panel and a lipskin coupled together to define an inner side of an inlet cowl, the lipskin defining a leading edge of the inlet cowl, the inner side of the inlet cowl extending a length from the leading edge to a rear end of the acoustic panel, wherein a seam is defined between a front end of the acoustic panel and the lipskin, wherein one or more fasteners extend through the front end of the acoustic panel into a protrusion along an interior surface of the lipskin to couple the acoustic panel to the lipskin;
- and
- a plenum back wall of a fluid ice protection system (FIPS), the plenum back wall affixed to the interior surface of the lipskin to define a plenum between the interior surface and a front surface of the plenum back wall, the plenum configured to receive an anti-ice liquid,
- wherein the plenum back wall is disposed in front of the seam along the length of the inner side of the inlet cowl, and the seam is within 6 cm of the leading edge, and wherein a length of the acoustic panel from the front end to the rear end is at least 80% of the length of the inner side of the inlet cowl.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.