Stiffened beam assembly
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorKevin Lee Sullivan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatuses may include a stiffened beam assembly including a structural beam portion having a web and upper and lower flanges, and at least one continuous stiffening member extending back and forth between the upper and lower flanges on one side of the web, forming one or more trusses or other reinforcing structures. The beam portion and/or the stiffening member(s) may comprise formed sheet metal. The stiffening member(s) may be mechanically attached to the beam portion.
Claims26
An internally-stiffened structural beam assembly comprising:
- an elongate beam having a web portion, a first flange, and a second flange spaced from and opposing the first flange across a face of the web portion;
- and
- one or more continuous stiffening members, each extending alternatingly between the first flange and the second flange along a respective length of the beam.
A structural beam assembly comprising:
- an elongate beam having a web portion and opposing flanges;
- and
- a plurality of trusses coupled to the beam and spanning the web between the opposing flanges;
- wherein the plurality of trusses are formed by a single continuous stiffening member extending back and forth between the opposing flanges along a length of the beam.
A method of assembling a reinforced structural beam, the method comprising:
- forming a plurality of bends in a continuous metal ribbon to create a corresponding plurality of straight segments configured to extend back and forth between opposing flanges of a beam, the opposing flanges of the beam extending orthogonal to a web plane defined by a web of the beam;
- and
- attaching the continuous metal ribbon to the beam by affixing the ribbon to one of the opposing flanges at each of the bends.
An airfoil comprising:
- a leading edge portion of an airfoil;
- a trailing edge portion of an airfoil;
- and
- one or more reinforced rib portions spanning a gap between the leading edge portion and the trailing edge portion, each reinforced rib portion including an elongate beam having a web portion, a first flange, and a second flange spaced from and opposing the first flange across a face of the web portion, and one or more continuous stiffening members, each stiffening member extending alternatingly between the first flange and the second flange along a respective length of the beam.
An aircraft comprising:
- an airframe including an airfoil;
- the airfoil portion comprising an elongate beam having a web portion and opposing flanges, a plurality of trusses coupled to the beam and spanning the web between the opposing flanges;
- wherein the plurality of trusses are formed by at least one single continuous stiffening member extending back and forth between the opposing flanges along a respective length of the beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.