Composite rotor blade and method of manufacture
AssigneeBell Helicopter Textron Inc.
InventorsAjay Sehgal, Eric C. Boyle, Christopher Finch, Robert S. Thompson
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Abstract
The present invention comprises a rotor blade and method of manufacture thereof. The rotor blade of the present invention incorporates a number of novel features in order to increase its reliability and strength while reducing its weight. In certain embodiments, the rotor blade of the present invention incorporates a flexural strap in place of traditional pitch bearings. In certain embodiments, the rotor blade of the present invention is manufactured using a unique fiber placement layup technique to reduce failure modes and maximize the fatigue strength of the part.
Claims7
A helicopter tail rotor blade assembly comprising:
- a flexural strap having an inboard end and an outboard end, the inboard end being adapted for coupling to a rotor hub, and the outboard end forming an upper spar and a lower spar;
- a core member disposed between the upper spar and the lower spar;
- an upper skin bonded to the upper spar having an inboard end and an outboard end;
- a lower skin bonded to the lower spar having an inboard end and an outboard end;
- a rotor cuff formed by the inboard ends of the upper skin and the lower skin, the rotor cuff being disposed about the flexural strap;
- a blade portion formed by the outboard ends of the upper skin and the lower skin;
- a pitch change mechanism coupled to the rotor cuff for selectively adjusting the pitch of the blade portion;
- and
- a shear spindle coupled to the rotor cuff and being adapted for coupling to a rotor hub, so as to provide a blade shear load path to a rotor hub;
- wherein the flexural strap is adapted to twist about its lengthwise axis in response to actuation of the pitch change mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.