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US 12,768,300 B2Granted
Cellular core for aircraft acoustic panel and method of manufacture
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorThomas Karl Tsotsis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Present systems and apparatuses and their methods of manufacture are directed to acoustic core that can be made from metal alloys or thermoplastic materials and formed into single-piece, net-shaped core details possessing one or more of the following features: varying cell size, varying cell-wall thickness, varying cell shape, varying core thickness, incorporation of wall perforations, incorporation of septums, edge closeouts, and non-vertical and/or curved cell walls.
Claims55
An apparatus for attenuating sound in an aircraft assembly, the apparatus comprising:
- a seamless unitary acoustic panel assembly comprising:
- a seamless, integral first facesheet;
- a seamless, integral second facesheet, at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet comprising a plurality of integral perforations extending through said at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet, said integral perforations formed into the at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet during manufacture of the at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet, said plurality of perforations combining to comprise a total open area of the at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet ranging from about 4% to about 14%;
- a seamless, integral cellular-core section seamlessly interposed between said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet, said seamless, integral cellular-core section comprising a plurality of seamless cells, said plurality of seamless cells each comprising a plurality of seamless cell walls, at least one of said plurality of seamless cell walls comprising a cell wall length, said at least one of said seamless cell walls comprising a manufactured varying cell wall thickness along the cell wall length to intentionally form in real time a non-uniform seamless cell wall thickness along the cell wall length of the at least one of the plurality of seamless cell walls, said plurality of seamless cell walls defining a seamless cell chamber in each of said plurality of seamless cells, said seamless cell chamber comprising a selected chamber contour, said selected chamber contour comprising a curving irregular geometry, said seamless cell chamber comprising a selected and tailored seamless cell-chamber volume;
- wherein said seamless cell chamber further comprises a selected internal cell chamber contour, said selected internal cell chamber contour comprising an internal cell chamber contour geometry, said internal cell chamber contour geometry configured to form a selected internal cell chamber contour curved bend, said internal cell chamber contour curved bend oriented to change direction toward and away from a cell-wall section more than once within and along an at least one seamless cell chamber length;
- and
- wherein the plurality of seamless cell walls defining the seamless cell chamber further comprise a non-linear orientation of an entire seamless cell chamber along the entirety of the at least one seamless cell chamber length.
4 more elements
A method for attenuating sound in an aircraft assembly, the method comprising:
- providing an aircraft assembly;
- integrating into the aircraft assembly a seamless, unitary acoustic panel, said seamless, unitary acoustic panel comprising:
- a seamless, integral first facesheet;
- a seamless, integral second facesheet, at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet comprising a plurality of perforations extending through said at least one of said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet;
- a seamless, integral cellular-core section seamlessly interposed between said seamless, integral first facesheet and said seamless, integral second facesheet, said seamless, integral cellular-core section comprising a plurality of seamless cells, said plurality of seamless cells comprising a plurality of seamless cell walls, each of said plurality of seamless cell walls comprising a cell wall length, said plurality of seamless cell walls defining a seamless cell chamber in each of said plurality of seamless cells, said seamless cell chamber comprising a selected chamber contour, said selected chamber contour comprising a curving irregular geometry, said seamless cell chamber comprising a selected and tailored seamless cell-chamber volume;
- wherein said seamless cell chamber comprises a selected internal cell chamber contour, said internal cell chamber contour comprising an internal cell chamber contour geometry, said internal cell chamber contour geometry configured to form a selected internal cell chamber contour curved bend, said internal cell chamber contour curved bend oriented to change direction toward and away from a cell-wall section more than once within and along an at least one seamless cell chamber length;
- wherein at least one of the plurality of seamless cells further comprises differing cell properties from at least one of a remainder of the plurality of seamless cells, said differing cell properties comprising at least one of differing cell-wall volume, differing cell-wall thickness, differing cell-wall density, and differing cell sound-attenuation ranges;
- wherein the at least one of the plurality of cell walls is manufactured in real time to form a varying cell wall thickness along the length of more than one of the plurality of seamless cell walls;
- and
- wherein the plurality of seamless cell walls defining the seamless cell chamber further comprise a non-linear orientation of an entire seamless cell chamber along the entirety of the at least one seamless cell chamber length.
7 more elements
A method for making a seamless unitary acoustic panel, the method comprising:
- directing a selected amount of a tailorable first feedstock material to a material-deposition machine to form a first facesheet material;
- depositing a selected amount of the tailorable first facesheet material from the material-deposition machine to a base to form a seamless, integral first facesheet;
- directing a selected amount of a tailorable second feedstock material to a material-deposition machine to form a seamless, integral cellular-core material,
- depositing a selected amount of the seamless, integral cellular-core material from the material-deposition machine to the seamless, integral first facesheet to form a seamless, integral cellular-core section incorporated into the seamless, integral first facesheet, said selected amount of the seamless, integral cellular-core material deposited to form a plurality of seamless cell walls comprising a seamless cell length, said plurality of seamless cell walls manufactured in real time to form a varying cell wall thickness along the length of the more than one of the plurality of seamless cell walls, said plurality of seamless cell walls defining a seamless cell chamber in each of said plurality of seamless cells, said seamless cell chamber comprising a selected chamber contour, said selected chamber contour comprising a curving irregular geometry, said seamless cell chamber comprising a selected and tailored seamless cell-chamber volume;
- directing a selected amount of a tailorable third feedstock material to a material-deposition machine to form a second facesheet material;
- depositing a selected amount of said second facesheet material from the material-deposition machine to the seamless, integral cellular-core section to form a seamless, integral second facesheet incorporated into the seamless, integral cellular-core section;
- wherein said second facesheet material is deposited onto the seamless, integral cellular-core section to form a plurality of perforations in the seamless, integral second facesheet, said plurality of perforations formed the seamless, integral second facesheet during deposition of the second facesheet material;
- and
- wherein the seamless, integral first facesheet, the seamless, integral cellular-core section, and the seamless, integral second facesheet form the seamless, unitary acoustic panel;
- wherein said seamless cell chamber comprises a selected internal cell chamber contour, said internal cell chamber contour comprising an internal cell chamber contour geometry, said internal cell chamber contour geometry configured to form a selected internal cell chamber contour curved bend, said internal cell chamber contour curved bend oriented to change direction toward and away from a cell-wall section more than once within and along an at least one seamless cell chamber length;
- and
- wherein the plurality of seamless cell walls defining the seamless cell chamber further comprise a non-linear orientation of an entire seamless cell chamber along the entirety of the at least one seamless cell chamber length.
9 more elements
A method for making a seamless, unitary cellular-core structure, the method comprising:
- directing a selected amount of a tailorable first feedstock material to a material-deposition machine to form a first cellular-core material, said seamless, unitary first cellular-core material comprising a first density;
- depositing a selected amount of the first cellular-core material from the material-deposition machine;
- forming a seamless, unitary cellular-core structure, said seamless, unitary cellular-core structure comprising a plurality of seamless cells, said plurality of seamless cells comprising a plurality of seamless cell walls, said plurality of seamless cells further comprising a seamless cell chamber;
- wherein said seamless cell chamber comprises a selected internal cell chamber contour, said internal cell chamber contour comprising an internal cell chamber contour geometry, said internal cell chamber contour geometry configured to form a selected internal cell chamber contour curved bend, said internal cell chamber contour curved bend oriented to change direction toward and away from a cell-wall section more than once within and along an at least one seamless cell chamber length;
- and
- wherein the plurality of seamless cell walls defining the seamless cell chamber further comprise a non-linear orientation of an entire seamless cell chamber along the entirety of the at least one seamless cell chamber length.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.