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US 12,576,960 B2Granted
Joint assembly in an aircraft structure
AssigneeAirbus Operations GmbH
InventorRichard James Clayton
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A joint assembly in an aircraft, for example between a wing skin and rib foot. The joint assembly includes fasteners mechanically holding the wing skin and rib foot together. The rib foot includes circular faying surfaces and a layer of material is sandwiched between the faying surfaces and the wing skin. The layer of material has adhesive properties such that the joint is a hybrid joint. The layer of material also has structural properties to function as a solid shim, for example once it has cured after application.
Claims18
A method of joining a first aircraft component to a second aircraft component, comprising sequential steps of:
- bringing the first aircraft component and the second aircraft component into proximity to one another, wherein:
- the first aircraft component comprises a plurality of faying surfaces, each of which is circular and raised above a non-faying surface of the first aircraft component;
- and
- the second aircraft component comprises a plurality of pilot holes;
- injecting an adhesive material, which comprises a curable pre-cursor material, through the plurality of pilot holes of the second aircraft component and onto a plurality of faying surfaces of the first aircraft component;
- arranging the first and second aircraft components such that the adhesive material is sandwiched directly between the faying surfaces and the second aircraft component, wherein the curable pre-cursor material is applied to fill a volume arising due to tolerances between the faying surfaces and the second aircraft component;
- and
- curing the curable pre-cursor material within the volume between the faying surfaces and the second aircraft component to form a solid shim in the volume;
- drilling through the plurality of pilot holes of the second aircraft component to form a plurality of holes in the first and second aircraft components, each hole of the plurality of holes comprising a pair of aligned holes in the first and second aircraft components;
- and
- attaching a plurality of fasteners, each fastener of the plurality of fasteners extending through a respective pair of aligned holes, the fasteners being arranged to mechanically hold the first and second aircraft components together,
- wherein the first and second aircraft components are simultaneously mechanically held together by the plurality of fasteners and adhesively bonded together by the adhesive material;
- wherein, when the first aircraft component and the second aircraft component are brought into proximity to one another, each of the faying surfaces is centered on a respective one of the plurality of pilot holes, through which the adhesive material is injected;
- and
- wherein the adhesive material does not contact the non-faying surface of the first aircraft component.
12 more elements
A joint assembly in an aircraft, the joint assembly comprising:
- a first aircraft component comprising:
- a plurality of holes, each of which has a first diameter;
- and
- a plurality of faying surfaces, each of which is circular, raised above a non-faying surface of the first aircraft component, has a second diameter, and surrounds and is centered on a respective hole of the plurality of holes;
- a second aircraft component having a plurality of holes therein;
- a plurality of fasteners, each fastener extending through a respective hole in the first aircraft component and a respective hole in the second aircraft component, and the plurality of fasteners being arranged such that the fasteners mechanically hold the first and second aircraft components together;
- and
- a layer of material sandwiched between the plurality of faying surfaces and the second aircraft component, the layer of material having:
- adhesive properties to structurally bond the first and second aircraft components together;
- and
- structural properties to function as a shim;
- wherein the layer of material is formed from a material derived from a curable pre-cursor that is configured to fill a volume arising due to tolerances between the plurality of faying surfaces and the second aircraft component;
- wherein the material that forms the layer of material is cured within the volume to form the solid shim;
- wherein the layer of material does not contact the non-faying surface of the first aircraft component;
- wherein the first and second aircraft components are simultaneously mechanically held together by the plurality of fasteners and adhesively bonded together by the layer of material;
- and
- wherein a magnitude of the second diameter is 2-4 times a magnitude of the first diameter.
14 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.