One-piece inner shell for full barrel composite fuselage
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsDoan Pham, Mark Tollan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of manufacturing a unitary seamless section of an aircraft fuselage comprises disposing a thin lay-up mandrel element onto the outer shell surface of a cylindrical inner mandrel shell, thereby forming a mandrel with a lay-up surface. A plurality of resin impregnated stiffener fibers may be layed-up within a plurality of stiffener channels in the lay-up surface to form a plurality of stiffeners or stringers. The method further includes laying up a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers onto the lay-up surface while the mandrel rotates to form a unitary pre-cured section of an aircraft fuselage.
Claims30
A method of manufacturing a unitary seamless section of an aircraft fuselage, the method comprising:
- disposing a plurality of caul plates onto an outer shell surface of a one-piece inner mandrel shell to form a mandrel with a lay-up surface, said caul plates comprising a plurality of stiffener channels formed into a caul outer surface;
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated stiffener fibers within said plurality of stiffener channels to form a plurality of stiffeners;
- and
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers onto said lay-up surface while said mandrel rotates to form a unitary pre-cured section of an aircraft fuselage.
A method of manufacturing a unitary seamless section of an aircraft fuselage, the method comprising:
- disposing a thin lay-up mandrel element onto an outer shell surface of a inner mandrel shell to form a mandrel with a lay-up surface;
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers onto said lay-up surface while said mandrel rotates to form a unitary pre-cured section of an aircraft fuselage.
A mandrel for use in manufacturing a unitary seamless section of an aircraft fuselage comprising:
- a inner mandrel shell having an outer shell surface;
- a thin lay-up mandrel element disposable onto said outer shell surface to form a mandrel with a substantially continuous lay-up surface such that when a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers are laid up onto said lay-up surface, a unitary pre-cured section of an aircraft fuselage is formed.
An article of manufacture comprising a unitary and seamless composite barrel section of an aircraft fuselage wherein the section includes a plurality of stringers.
A method of manufacturing an aircraft, the method comprising assembling at least two unitary and seamless composite barrel sections wherein each of the sections includes a plurality of stringers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.