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US 12,747,016 B1Granted
Hybrid thermoset and thermoplastic composite airplane wings employing thermoplastic co-bonding
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsChristopher Alan Howe, Phillip John Crothers, Nikita Budwal, Alexander Michael Rubin, Ying Shi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A composite airplane wing utilizes both fiber reinforced thermoset and thermoplastic components that are co-bonded using a thermoplastic bonding film.
Claims20
An airplane wing, comprising:
- a wing substructure including a composite front spar, a composite rear spar and a plurality of composite ribs extending between the composite front spar and the composite rear spar;
- an upper wing skin assembly including a composite upper wing skin and a first plurality of composite stringers co-bonded to the composite upper wing skin by a thermoplastic bonding film that has a melt temperature less than a glass transition temperature of the composite upper wing skin and the first plurality of composite stringers, wherein the upper wing skin assembly is co-bonded to the wing substructure by a thermoplastic bonding film that has a melt temperature less than a glass transition temperature of the wing substructure;
- and
- a lower wing skin assembly including a composite lower wing skin and a second plurality of composite stringers co-bonded to the composite lower wing skin by a thermoplastic bonding film that has a melt temperature less than a glass transition temperature of the composite lower wing skin and the second plurality of composite stringers, wherein the lower wing skin assembly is co-bonded to the wing substructure by a thermoplastic bonding film that has a melt temperature less than a glass transition temperature of the wing substructure.
1 more element
A method fabricating an airplane wing, comprising:
- making an upper composite wing skin assembly;
- making a lower composite wing skin assembly;
- making a wing substructure;
- and,
- attaching the upper composite wing skin assembly and the lower composite wing skin assembly to the wing substructure, including co-bonding at least one of the upper composite wing skin assembly and the lower composite wing skin assembly to the wing substructure using a thermoplastic bonding film, and fastening another of the other of the upper composite wing skin assembly and the lower composite wing skin assembly to the wing substructure using single-sided fasteners, wherein the thermoplastic bonding film has a melt temperature less than a glass transition temperature of the wing substructure.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.