Attachments
AssigneeHexcel Composites Limited
InventorsDenis Granger, Chris Harrington, Asher Ahmed, Joseph Gargiuli
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Mechanically attaching articles made from composites has problems due to the difference in properties of the composite in the x, y planar direction and the z perpendicular direction, this results in different properties between the composite and the attachment member such as differences in coefficients of thermal expansion which can weaken the joint further leading to differences in moisture uptake which can further reduce the strength and robustness of the joint. The invention relates to the selection of the position of a joint in order to reduce such problems and to operating the moulding process in a way that improves the provision of mechanical attachments such as bolt holes.
Claims19
A method of selecting a bolt line in a composite part comprising the steps of:
- a) obtaining the strain characteristics of the composite;
- b) selecting a bolt line,
- wherein the bolt line is selected such that the strain and/or associated stress along the bolt line is within a desired range.
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A moulding process in which the orientation of fibres in a moulding compound is controlled to provide a volume in an article cured from the moulding compound that optimises the location of a mechanical attachment within the article.
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A composite part comprising a cured moulding material in which the fibres lie substantially in a x, y plane of the part and comprising a metal fastener said fastener being arranged along a bolt line, said bolt line extending substantially perpendicular to the x, y plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.