Aircraft fuselage with composite pre-form
AssigneeAurora Flight Sciences Corporation
InventorsClint Church, Jeffrey Chambers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wide-body aircraft is disclosed with a fuselage section that includes a set of side-by-side fuselage lobes having a fuselage skin. A first woven composite preform positioned at a first intersection of the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes located at a first cusp of the side-by-side fuselage lobes. A second woven composite preform positioned at a second intersection of the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes located at a second cusp of the side-by-side fuselage lobes. Each of the first and second woven composite preforms are configured to receive a structural component, such that each of the first and second woven composite preforms accommodates vertical load imparted through the structural component.
Claims20
A fuselage comprising:
- a wide-body fuselage section comprising a set of side-by-side fuselage lobes having a fuselage skin;
- a first woven composite preform positioned at a first intersection of the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes and located at a first cusp of the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes;
- and
- a second woven composite preform positioned at a second intersection of the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes and located at a second cusp of the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes,
- wherein each of the first and second woven composite preforms are configured to receive a structural component, such that each of the first and second woven composite preforms accommodates a vertical load imparted through the structural component.
A woven composite preform configured to manage tension in a wide-body fuselage, comprising:
- a non-planar base with one or more legs extending from the base, the base configured to conform to an arced contour of the wide-body fuselage and the legs configured to secure a structural component;
- and
- a plurality of strands that are woven together to form a woven composite preform for the wide-body fuselage and the structural component, wherein the woven composite preform is configured to distribute loads imparted via the structural component.
A method for managing loads imparted within a wide-body fuselage, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing the wide-body fuselage comprising a set of side-by-side fuselage lobes;
- joining the set of side-by-side fuselage lobes together, forming intersections at a top and a bottom of the resulting wide-body fuselage;
- placing a woven composite preform at each of the intersections;
- bonding the woven composite preform to the wide-body fuselage at the intersections;
- inserting a keel within the woven composite preform;
- and
- forming a skin over the wide-body fuselage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.