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US 8,524,025 B2Granted
One-piece inner shell for full barrel composite fuselage
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsDoan D. Pham, Mark W. Tollan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mandrel for manufacturing a unitary seamless section of an aircraft fuselage comprises a thin lay-up mandrel element disposed onto the outer shell surface of an inner mandrel shell, forming a mandrel with a substantially continuous lay-up surface. A unitary pre-cured section of an aircraft fuselage is formed by laying up a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers onto the mandrel's lay-up surface while the mandrel rotates.
Claims18
A method of manufacturing an aircraft fuselage, the method comprising:
- disposing a plurality of tapered caul plates onto an outer shell surface of an inner mandrel shell to form a mandrel with a lay-up surface, the outer shell surface further having an outer taper from a first shell end to a second shell end such that an outer diameter of the inner mandrel shell is larger at the first shell end than at the second shell end, and the plurality of tapered caul plates comprising a plurality of stiffener channels formed into a caul outer surface and comprising a first plate end having a first plate inner dimension and a second plate end having a second plate inner dimension, the first plate inner dimension being larger than the second plate inner dimension, the tapered caul plates complementing the tapered inner mandrel shell to produce a substantially uniform lay-up surface;
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated stiffener fibers within the plurality of stiffener channels to form a plurality of stiffeners;
- and
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers onto the lay-up surface to form a unitary pre-cured section of the aircraft fuselage.
1 more element
A method of manufacturing an aircraft fuselage, the method comprising:
- disposing a lay-up mandrel element onto an outer shell surface of an inner mandrel shell to form a mandrel with a lay-up surface;
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated stiffener fibers within a corresponding plurality of stiffener channels formed in the lay-up mandrel element;
- inserting a corresponding additional mandrel into each of the corresponding plurality of stiffener channels;
- laying up a plurality of resin impregnated skin fibers onto the lay-up surface to form a unitary pre-cured section of the aircraft fuselage;
- mounting at least one support ring to the lay-up mandrel element;
- curing the unitary pre-cured section;
- and
- supporting the lay-up mandrel element using the at least one support ring while the inner mandrel shell is removed.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.