Composite bodies and their manufacture
AssigneeROLLS-ROYCE plc
InventorRobert C. BACKHOUSE
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Abstract
The application describes methods of making composite bodies including fibre-reinforced composite material with carbon fibre reinforcement and also a metal-containing portion (4). The metal-containing portion (4) is formed by laying up metal reinforcement elements, such as tapes of titanium alloy, among the carbon fibre reinforcement tapes which make up the composite body. The proportion of metal reinforcement may increase progressively towards the surface and/or towards an edge (14) of the composite body. In an example, metal leading and trailing edges (14,15) of a fan blade (1) are integrally formed in this way.
Claims20
A method of making a composite body comprising
- assembling a body form by laying up multiple overlapping lengths of reinforcement material comprising carbon fibre reinforcement material;
- providing curable polymeric material impregnating the laid-up reinforcement material, and
- curing the polymeric material to form a solid matrix,
- characterised by
- laying up lengths of metal reinforcement as a said reinforcement material at a predetermined region of the body form, to form a metal-containing portion of the composite body.
A composite body having a body form comprising multiple overlapping laid-up layers made from lengths of reinforcement material embedded in a cured polymeric matrix material, the body form comprising a metal-containing portion where the reinforcement material comprises both carbon fibre reinforcement and metal reinforcement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.