Aircraft structures having improved through-thickness thermal conductivity
AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation
InventorSlade H. Gardner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus is provided for transferring heat through the thickness of aircraft structure formed from composite laminates. Z-pins having a high thermal conductivity are inserted through the composite laminate and placed in thermal communications with a heat source at the end of each z-pin on one side of the structure. The ends of the z-pins on the opposite side of the structure as the heat source are in thermal communication with a heat sink. Each of the heat source and heat sink maybe a fluid, which carries heat to or away from the z-pins by convective currents, or a component that is mechanically connected to the z-pins, which conduct heat from or to the component.
Claims19
An aircraft, comprising:
- an aircraft structure;
- a skin over the aircraft structure, the skin being a composite laminate formed from layers of fabric and having a first side and a second side opposite the first side;
- a heat source within the aircraft structure on the first side of the skin, the second side of the skin adapted to be exposed to a heat sink;
- and
- a plurality of pins formed of pitch-based carbon fibers, the pins extending through the skin from the first side to the second side and generally perpendicular to the layers of fabric, each pin having first and second ends, each first end being in thermal communication with the heat source, each second end adapted to be in thermal communication with the heat sink.
An aircraft, comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a heat source within the fuselage;
- a skin over the fuselage, the skin being formed from a plurality of layers of fabric bonded together to create a composite structure, the layers of fabric having woven PAN-based carbon fibers;
- a plurality of carbon fiber pins formed of pitch-based carbon fibers and extending through the skin generally perpendicular to the layers;
- and wherein
- a first side of the skin is in contact with the heat source and an opposite second side of the skin is adapted to be in contact with a heat sink for transferring heat from the heat source to the heat sink through the pins.
An aircraft, comprising:
- a fuselage having a composite structure formed from a plurality of layers of fabric bonded together, the layers of fabric having woven PAN-based carbon fibers;
- a heat source within the fuselage;
- a plurality of carbon fiber pins formed of pitch-based carbon fibers and extending through the composite structure generally perpendicular to the layers;
- and wherein
- a first side of the composite structure is in contact with the heat source and an opposite second side of the composite structure is adapted to be in contact with a heat sink for transferring heat from the heat source to the heat sink through the pins.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.