Patent Application
20130062143
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to acoustic systems that are used to attenuate noise. The invention involves using honeycomb to make nacelles and other structures that are useful in reducing the noise generated by aircraft engines or other noise sources. More particularly, the invention is directed to acoustic structures in which septum material is inserted into the cells of pre-existing honeycomb to provide dampening or attenuation of noise.
2. Description of Related Art
It is widely recognized that the best way of dealing with excess noise generated by a specific source is to treat the noise at the source. This is typically accomplished by adding acoustic damping structures (acoustic treatments) to the structure of the noise source. One particularly problematic noise source is the jet engine used on most passenger aircraft. Acoustic treatments are typically incorporated in the engine inlet, nacelle and exhaust structures. These acoustic treatments include acoustic resonators that contain relatively thin acoustic materials or grids that have millions of holes that create acoustic impedance to the sound energy generated by the engine. The basic problem that faces engineers is how to add these thin and flexible acoustic materials into the structural elements of the jet engine and surrounding nacelle to provide desired noise attenuation.
Honeycomb has been a popular material for use in aircraft and aerospace vehicles because it is relatively strong and lightweight. For acoustic applications, the goal has been to somehow incorporate the thin acoustic materials into the honeycomb structure so that the honeycomb cells are closed or covered. The closing of the cells with acoustic material creates the acoustic impedance upon which the resonator is based.
One approach to incorporating thin acoustic materials into honeycomb is referred to as the sandwich design. In this approach, the thin acoustic sheet is placed between two slices of honeycomb and bonded in place to form a single structure. This approach has advantages in that one can utilize sophisticated acoustic material designs that are woven, punched or etched to exact dimensions and the bonding process is relatively simple. However, a drawback of this design is that the strength of the structure is limited by the bond between the two honeycomb slices and the acoustic material. Also, the bonding surface between the two honeycomb slices is limited to the surface area along the edges of the honeycomb. In addition, there is a chance that some of the holes in the acoustic material may be unintentionally closed with excess adhesive during the bonding process.
A second approach uses relatively thick solid inserts that are individually bonded in place within the honeycomb cells. Once in place, the inserts are drilled or otherwise treated to form the holes that are necessary for the inserts to function as an acoustic material. This approach eliminates the need to bond two honeycomb slices together. The result is a strong structure in which the inserts are securely bonded. However, this approach also has a few drawbacks. For example, the cost and complexity of having to drill millions of holes in the solid inserts is a major drawback. In addition, the relatively thick solid inserts make the honeycomb stiff and difficult to form into non-planar structures, such as nacelles for jet engines.
Another approach involves inserting relatively light-weight septum fabric into the honeycomb cell to form a septum cap having anchoring flanges that are then glued to the honeycomb walls. The use of septum caps is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,434,659; 7,510,052 and 7,854,298. This type of process requires that the septum caps be friction-locked within the cell to hold the septum caps in place prior to permanent bonding to the honeycomb wall. Friction-locking of the septum caps is an important aspect of this type of septum-insertion procedure. The septums may shift or otherwise move during handling if friction-locking is not adequate. Any shifting of the septums makes it difficult to apply adhesive uniformly to the septums during bonding. Shifting of the septums also causes uncontrolled altering of the acoustic properties. In the worst case, the septum may fall completely out of the honeycomb cell if friction locking is not adequate.
In accordance with the present invention, it was discovered that the orientation of the septum fabric within the honeycomb cell is an important factor that determines how well the septum friction-locks to the walls of the honeycomb. The invention is applicable to honeycomb cells that include at least two parallel walls where at least one of the parallel walls forms a greater portion of the cell perimeter than one or more of the other non-parallel walls. It was discovered that orienting the septum material, such that the fibers extending between the two parallel walls are substantially perpendicular to the walls, provides an effective way to friction-lock the septum to the honeycomb. The present invention improves material utilization and friction-locking of the septum to the honeycomb. The invention substantially reduces rework costs and inconvenience due to septums falling out of the honeycomb or otherwise shifting during handling prior to and during adhesive application.
The present invention is directed to acoustic structures that are designed to be located near a source of noise, such as a jet engine or other power plant. The structures include a honeycomb that has a first edge which is to be located nearest the source of noise and a second edge located away from the source. The honeycomb includes a plurality of walls that extend between the first and second edge of the honeycomb. The walls form a plurality of cells that each includes at least four walls. At least two of the four walls defining each cell are substantially parallel to each other. The cell walls define a perimeter around the cell where at least one of the parallel walls forms a larger portion of the cell perimeter than at least one of the other cell walls that is not parallel to the larger wall.
The septum that is inserted into the cell is an acoustic material which is made up of a plurality of warp fibers and a plurality of weft fibers. The warp fibers and weft fibers are substantially perpendicular to each other. Each of the warp fibers includes a resonator portion that is located within the cell. Each warp fiber also includes anchoring portions located at each end. Each of the weft fibers also includes a resonator portion located within the cell and anchoring portions located at each end. The anchoring portions of the warp and weft fibers are bonded to the honeycomb walls. As a feature of the invention, the septum is oriented in the cell such that resonator portions of either the warp or weft fibers are substantially perpendicular to the larger parallel cell wall.
The present invention is also directed to the precursor structures that are formed when the septum is friction-locked within the honeycomb cell. It was discovered that the friction-locking provided by the perpendicular orientation of the septum fibers in accordance with the present invention prevents shifting of the septums within the honeycomb during all phases of routine handling of the precursor structure prior to and during permanent bonding of the septums to the honeycomb. The present invention is further directed to methods for making acoustic structures.
The present invention provides a number of advantages in addition to secure friction-locking of the septum to the core. For example, the amount of septum material is reduced because the same degree of friction-locking can be achieved with smaller sized anchoring portions. In addition, less material is wasted when the septum is cut from the septum fabric. Further, less folding of the septum material occurs when the septum is inserted into the cell because the size of the anchoring portion can be reduced and the perpendicular orientation of the fabric tends to reduce the extra mesh formation at the fold. The perpendicular fiber orientation within the cell also tends to reduce bunching of the septum material in the cell corners. The amount of adhesive needed to bond the septum to the honeycomb wall is also reduced due to the smaller anchoring portions and reduced fabric bunching. The septum can also be placed closer to the honeycomb edge, since the anchoring portions do not need to be as long in order to achieve adequate friction-locking. This is particularly advantageous for thin honeycomb where the size of the septum anchoring portion may approach the thickness of the honeycomb.
The above discussed and many other featured and attendant advantages of the present invention will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
An exemplary acoustic structure in accordance with the present invention is shown generally at 10 in
Septums 24 are located within the cells 20. It is preferred, but not necessary, that the septums 24 be located in most, if not all, of the cells 20. In certain situations, it may be desirable to insert the septums 24 in only some of the cells to produce a desired acoustic effect. Alternatively, it may be desirable to insert two or more septums into a single cell. It also may be desirable to locate the septums 24 at different depths within different cells 20 located at different places within the honeycomb
In
The perimeter of the cell 26 is defined or formed by cell walls 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40. Cell walls 30 and 36 are parallel to each other and form a first pair of parallel cell walls. Cell walls 34 and 40 are also parallel to each other and form a second pair of parallel cell walls. Cell walls 32 and 38 are also parallel to each other and form a third pair of parallel walls. Since the cell 26 is not in the shape of a regular hexagon, the first and second pair of parallel walls are wider than the third pair of parallel walls. Each of the walls in the first and second pair of parallel walls makes up a larger portion of the cell perimeter than each of the walls in the third pair of parallel walls.
In accordance with the present invention, septum 24 is oriented so that the warp fibers 28 are perpendicular to the pair of wider parallel walls 30 and 36. This orientation also places the weft fibers 29 perpendicular to the other pair of wider parallel walls 34 and 40. It was discovered that orienting the septum fibers perpendicular to the wider parallel walls provides an especially effective way to friction-lock the septum 24 within the cell 26.
Each of the weft and warp fibers includes a central resonator portion and an anchoring portion located at each end of the fiber for attaching the fibers to the cell walls. In
Any of the standard woven fiber acoustic materials may be used to form the septums. These acoustic materials are typically provided as relatively thin sheets of an open mesh fabric that are specifically designed to provide noise attenuation. It is preferred that the acoustic material be an open mesh fabric that is woven from monofilament fibers. The fibers may be composed of glass, carbon, ceramic or polymers. Monofilament polymer fibers made from polyamide, polyester, polyethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polytetrafluoroethyloene (PTFE), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyfluoroethylene propylene (FEP), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyamide 6 (Nylon 6, PA6) and polyamide 12 (Nylon 12, PA12) are just a few examples. Open mesh fabric made from PEEK is preferred for high temperature applications. Open mesh acoustic fabrics and other acoustic materials that may be used to form the septum caps in accordance with the present invention are available from a wide variety of commercial sources. For example, sheets of open mesh acoustic fabric may be obtained from SEFAR America Inc. (Buffalo Division Headquarters 111 Calumet Street Depew, N.Y. 14043) under the trade names SEFAR PETEX, SEFAR NITEX and SEFAR PEEKTEX.
Although the acoustic fabric can be made from a combination of different woven fibers, it is preferred that the fibers in the acoustic fabric be made from the same material. In many acoustic fabrics the warp direction fibers (warp fibers) are generally made from smaller diameter fibers than the weft direction fibers (weft fibers). Accordingly, the weft fibers tend to be stronger and less flexible than the warp direction fibers. It was discovered that the less flexible fibers are more effective for friction-locking the septum to the cell wall. When possible, it is preferred that the septum be oriented so that the resonator portions of the less flexible weft fibers are perpendicular to the honeycomb wall that forms the largest part of the cell perimeter. Flexibility of the weft fibers may also be increased relative to the warp fibers by altering the chemistry (rather than the diameter) of the weft fiber to provide a stiffer fiber.
In woven fabric where the fibers in one direction are less flexible or stronger than the cross-direction fibers, the stronger fibers are commonly referred to as the dominant fibers. The present invention may be used in connection with septums made from all types of woven acoustic fabric including those where there is no dominant fiber. However, it is preferred that the woven septum material include dominate fibers and that the dominate fibers are the weft fibers.
Acoustic fabric is typically provided as a sheet of material that is cut into multiple ribbons. The septums are then cut from the ribbons.
The typical prior art method for cutting septums from a ribbon of acoustic material is shown in
In
In
As discussed above, the septum 51 is oriented so that the weft fibers 55 are perpendicular to the pair of wider parallel walls 65 and 67. Inserting the septum so that the stiffer weft fibers 55 are perpendicular to the wider parallel walls provides an especially effective way to friction-lock the septum 51 within the cell 53.
The present invention is applicable to a wide variety of cells shapes. The preferred cell cross-sectional shape is a polygon having more than four walls that form the perimeter of the polygon and where the width of the walls, with respect to the perimeter, are not all equal. Hexagonal and rectangular cells with cross-sectional shapes similar to the ones shown in
The septums 24 may be inserted into the honeycomb cell to provide a wide variety of acoustic designs. For example, the septums may be located at different levels within the honeycomb 12A as shown at 24A and 24B in
Another example of an insertion configuration for the septums 24 is shown in
The preferred method for inserting the septums into the honeycomb to form a precursor structure where the septums are friction-locked within the honeycomb cell is shown in
As shown in
It is important that the size/shape of the septum and the size/shape of the plunger and die be chosen such that the septum cap can be inserted into the cell without damaging the acoustic material while at the same time providing enough frictional contact between the anchoring portions of the septum fibers and the cell wall to hold the septum in place during subsequent handling of the precursor structure. Routine experimentation may be used to establish the necessary frictional locking for septums made from a particular acoustic fabric, provided that the guidelines set forth above with respect to weft and warp fiber orientation for various cell shapes are followed. The amount of frictional locking or holding should be sufficient to keep the septum caps from shifting or otherwise moving, even if the precursor structure is inadvertently dropped during handling.
A precursor structure is shown at 10p in
The adhesive may be applied to the fiber anchoring portion/cell wall interface using a variety of known adhesive application procedures. An important consideration is that the adhesive should be applied in a controlled manner. The adhesive, as a minimum, should be applied to the anchoring portion of the fibers at their interface with the cell wall. In some cases, it is desirable to fine tune the acoustic structure by covering part of the resonator portion of the fibers with adhesive. Application of adhesive to the resonator portion of the fibers results in closing or at least reducing the size of the openings in the mesh or other acoustic material. Uncontrolled application of adhesive to the resonator portion of the septum is generally undesirable and should be avoided. Accordingly, adhesive application procedures that can provide selective and controlled application of adhesive to the anchoring portion of the fibers at their interface with the cell walls may be used.
An exemplary adhesive application procedure is shown in
The dipping procedure for applying the adhesive that is depicted in
The acoustic structures in accordance with the present invention may be used in a wide variety of situations where noise attenuation is required. The structures are well suited for use in connection with power plant systems where noise attenuation is usually an issue. Honeycomb is a relatively lightweight material. Accordingly, the acoustic structures of the present invention are particularly well suited for use in aircraft systems. Exemplary uses include nacelles for jet engines, cowlings for large turbine or reciprocating engines and related acoustic structures.
The basic acoustic structure of the present invention is typically heat-formed into the final shape of the engine nacelle and then the skins or sheets of outer material are bonded to the outside edges of the formed acoustic structure with an adhesive layer(s). This completed sandwich is cured in a holding tool, which maintains the complex shape of the nacelle during the bonding. For example, as shown in
Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only and that various other alternatives, adaptations and modification may be made within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the above preferred embodiments and examples, but is only limited by the following claims.
