Spiral laminated structural cone and manufacturing method
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsRichard W. ASTON, Brett T. COPE, Andrew R. STREETT
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Abstract
A cone-shaped composite article may include an inner sublaminate containing at least four unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of 0, 90, −45, and +45 degrees such that the inner laminate has a quasi-isotropic layup pattern at any location on the inner laminate. The cone-shaped composite article may also include an outer sublaminate containing at least four unidirectional plies having an outer stacking sequence that is a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence. Each one of the unidirectional plies may be continuous along a ply arclength wrapping 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article and may have opposing ply ends terminating at a ply seam.
Claims20
A cone-shaped composite article, comprising:
- an inner sublaminate having a cone shape and containing at least four unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of 0, 90, +45, and −45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup pattern at any location on the inner sublaminate;
- an outer sublaminate having an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence;
- each one of the unidirectional plies being continuous along a ply arclength wrapping 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article and having opposing ply ends terminating at a ply seam.
A cone-shaped composite article, comprising:
- an inner sublaminate having a cone shape and containing four unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of 0, 90, +45, and −45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location on the inner sublaminate;
- an outer sublaminate having an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence;
- each one of the unidirectional plies being continuous along a ply arclength wrapping 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article and having opposing ply ends terminating at a ply seam;
- at least one global axial ply laminated with the inner sublaminate and the outer sublaminate and comprising a plurality of axial ply wedges arranged in side-by-side relation and extending 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article;
- and
- each axial ply wedge having a fiber angle being generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cone-shaped composite article.
A method of manufacturing a cone-shaped composite article, comprising the steps of:
- providing unidirectional plies in a continuous arcuate shape in a flat pattern configured to wrap 360 degrees around a cone-shaped mandrel such that opposing ply ends of each unidirectional ply terminate at a ply seam;
- laying up an inner sublaminate on the cone-shaped mandrel, the inner sublaminate containing at least four of the unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of −45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location of the inner sublaminate;
- and
- laying up an outer sublaminate in an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.