The present invention relates to structural skin. In particular, the present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for stiffening structural skin.
Structural skin is often used in manufacturing large parts, such as aircraft wing torque boxes, fuselages or control surface structures. This type of structure utilizes thin skins that would not be stable under bending and torsion loads that produce significant shear or compression in the walls. This type of construction is typical of most aerospace structures including wings, fuselages, control surfaces, tail booms, etc. Structural skins can be made thinner, and are, therefore, more weight efficient, when internal stiffening elements are used. A rib, for example, is a structural stiffening element that is disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a box beam, i.e., the rib lies in a cross-sectional plane of the beam structure. Ribs serve a variety of purposes in thin-skinned structure, including: (1) to provide support for the skin/skin stringer or spar panels against catastrophic buckling; (2) to maintain shape and contour of the skin; (3) to provide stiffness at major load introduction points; (4) to distribute concentrated loads into surrounding thinner structure; (5) to provide a shear redistribution path in the case of failure of any structural elements; and (6) to distribute pressure into the skin. These ribs are typically located at major load introduction points. In most instances, the entire rib is used to react loads; however, in some instances only certain regions of the rib is used to react loads. In addition, some ribs do not have any load introduction points, but react internal pressure loads.
Assembly of these structural box beams can be very complex, often with very tight tolerances required. As the number of parts is reduced, the manufacturing tolerances become even more critical, because there are fewer joints where variances can be accommodated. The installation of fasteners into these box beams presents additional difficulties, including limited access to small interior spaces and complicated sealing requirements.
One-piece closed cell structures can economically be produced with a variety of methods, including filament winding, automated tape placement, resin transfer molding, and others. However, these assembly-tolerance issues often preclude the use of one-piece closed-cell torque box structures with secondarily attached internal ribs, i.e., slipped-in ribs. Because of the reduction in part count and assembly labor associated with consolidating the torque box skins into a single part, a substantial cost savings could be realized if the assembly tolerance issues could be overcome. Several composite fabrication technologies are available to economically produce such a joint-free torque-box structure, including filament winding, automated tape placement, resin transfer molding, and others. Practical application of one-piece, jointless torque box structures has been limited because of the difficulty of installing the internal stiffening ribs. A rib installation design that allowed for large assembly tolerances and the resulting gaps between the rib and the torque box skins would enable more widespread application of these cost-saving technologies.
There is a need for a skin stabilization system that allows for a contact-only element in one of the two primary directions for skin stability. There is also a need for a stabilization element installation design that allows for large assembly tolerances and the resulting gaps between skin and the skin stabilization element, thereby reducing the fabrication cost of assembled structures.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structural stiffened skin in which the stiffening elements support the skin using a compression-only load path.
This object is achieved by providing a slip-in rib, or other stiffening member, of varying configurations in which the stiffening elements support the skin using a compression-only load path. In the preferred embodiment, the stiffening element has a peripheral edge that is adapted to be press fit into contact with the skin. The stiffening member may be held in place by various retention devices. Another configuration is a slip-in rib having a flange with a peripheral channel in which a filler material is disposed. The rib is inserted into an assembled structural box beam, and the filler material is used to fill any gaps between the slip-in rib and the interior surface of the structural box beam. The filler material is preferably an expandable material, such as an expandable foam-type material. However, in situations where a slip-in rib forms a primary structural rib, the filler material is preferably a structural adhesive or liquid shim material. A solid adhesive or filler would not crush under the clamping forces from fasteners or bolts at localized fitting attachments.
The present invention provides significant advantages, including: (1) costs associated with manufacturing closed-box structures are reduced due to relaxed tolerances and the ability to reduce part count; (2) failure of the rib/box bond is not a significant structural concern, because shear transfer through the rib/box bond is a secondary load path; (3) tolerance build-up is accommodated, because the slip-in ribs can be bonded in place as one-piece ribs; and (4) manufacturing labor is reduced, because fastener installation is reduced or eliminated.
Additional objectives, features, and advantages will be apparent in the written description that follows.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, the invention itself, as well as, a preferred mode of use, and further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A curved structural skin can be stabilized with circumferential stiffening elements, such as frames or ribs, or longitudinal stiffening elements, such as longerons, stringers, or caps. The present invention represents the basic discovery that the internal support mechanism for reacting buckling and retaining shape in structural skin can perform functionally through compressive load transfer only. In other words, the structural attachment of internal stiffening elements to the skin and other frame elements is redundant and unnecessary. As such, either type of stiffening element can be allowed to float relative with the skin using compression-only “contact” support, provided the stiffening element is trapped or supported by the attached or integral stiffening elements in the other primary direction.
The present invention is useful over a wide range of industries, and provides valuable benefits and advantages in any application in which it is desirable to internally support a structural skin. Although the present invention is described herein with reference to certain aircraft applications, it will be appreciated that the methods and apparatuses of the present can be used in many different applications.
Non-linear finite element analysis of box beam structures has shown that ribs with only enough structural connection to hold them in place are quite effective in supporting skins against initial buckling, and in allowing load redistribution to occur in post-buckled skins. The reason for this is that in order for the beam cross-section to deform when a panel buckles, for example, the members supporting the edges of that panel must move toward one another. This collapsing deformation is resisted by internal ribs, which prevent the edge members from moving toward one another. The ribs react collapsing deformations in compression, so no shear attachment to the skins or spars is required. The rib perimeter bond can then be considered very damage tolerant, because local discontinuities and damage do not impact the performance of the rib.
The more general case of a large aircraft fuselage skin panel stiffened using snapped-in contact sticks between frames has also been demonstrated using nonlinear finite element analysis. The slip-in sticks function adequately as stringers to prevent global buckling and fuselage collapse under shear and compression loading. In this application, the frames, which are analogous to the ribs in a torque box structure, are fixed while the stringers are not directly attached to the skins. Thus, like the slip-in rib example, this demonstrates the basic premise that stiffening elements using contact or compression-only load paths are structurally adequate for thin-skinned structures when used in one of the two orthogonal stiffening orientations.
In the aircraft applications described herein, the present invention is a means of supporting the skin/skin stringer or spar panels against catastrophic buckling, and for maintaining the shape and contour of a structural box beam, such as aircraft wing torque boxes or control surface structures. In its broadest sense, the subject invention covers two main concepts: (1) that structural stiffening elements can be installed into assembled thin-skinned structures without fasteners or shims; and (2) that the structural attachment of these stiffening elements to the skins of the structural box beam and spars is redundant and not necessary.
Referring to
Slip-in ribs 17 are simply inserted through the large end opening of conical tail boom 11 and pressed into place. The peripheral edges of slip-in ribs 17 are press fit into contact with the interior surface of skin 13. Thus, there is no need for any filler between the peripheral edges of slip-in ribs 17 and the interior surface of skin 13 to account for tolerances. In most applications, slip-in ribs 17 are held in place by retention means, such as snap-in clips, springs, or detent devices.
Slip-in ribs 17 may have a wide variety of shapes and configurations. Four possible configurations are shown in
Referring now to
Box beam 111 is internally supported by at least one slip-in rib 121. Slip-in rib 121 has an internal web portion 123 and a peripheral flange portion 125. Although web portion 123 has been shown as a solid plate member, it should be understood that web portion 123 may include apertures and/or a truss arrangement (not shown) that would allow cables, wiring, and other component parts to pass longitudinally through box beam 111. Flange portion 125 includes a recessed channel 127 that extends along the periphery of slip-in rib 121. Web portion 123 and flange portion 125 cooperate to allow slip-in rib 121 to function as an I-beam. This configuration allows slip-in rib 121 to be very strong in compression, which the primary functional load transfer path of the present invention.
Walls 113, 115, 117, and 119 are typically integrally formed by filament winding, braiding, fiber placement or hand lay-up with either prepreg or resin infusion methods such as resin transfer molding, or variations such as, pultrusion, or extrusion, or roll forming from metallic sheets or panels of fiber composite laminates, and slip-in ribs 121 are preferably fabricated from either a metallic or non-metallic fiber filled machining-tolerant plate material. Compression or injection molding or reaction injection molding may also be used to produce net molded ribs. However, it will be appreciated that walls 113, 115, 117, and 119 and slip-in ribs 121 may be formed from other suitable materials, depending upon load, assembly, and application requirements.
In conventional box beam structures, walls 113, 115, 117, and 119 cannot be integrated or pre-assembled without attaching the internal ribs and other support structures. One major benefit of the present invention is that walls 113, 115, 117, and 119 can be integrally produced or assembled prior to installation of the internal support network. This is because slip-in ribs 121 are configured to facilitate installation into an integral or one piece box beam 111.
The location of slip-in rib 121 after installation into box beam 111 is shown in dashed lines in
Referring now to
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In
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In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
The foregoing discussion and the embodiments of
Referring now to
As is shown, a structural box beam 211 includes a skin 213 and a slip-in rib 221. Slip-in rib 221 includes an internal web portion 223 and a peripheral flange portion 225. As with slip-in rib 121, although web portion 223 has been shown as a solid plate member, it should be understood that web portion 223 may include void spaces and/or a truss arrangement (not shown) that would allow cables, wiring, and other component parts to pass longitudinally through box beam 211.
Flange portion 225 includes a recessed channel 227 that extends along the periphery of slip-in rib 221 to receive a structural adhesive material 241. As is shown, a small clearance, or gap 231, exists between the exterior edges of flange 225 and the interior surfaces of skin 213. In these embodiments, small peripheral grooves 235 may be included in both sides of flange 225 for receiving optional seal members, such as an 0-rings 237. 0-rings 237 help to initially seat slip-in rib 221 and help to contain adhesive 241 if required.
In these embodiments, it is necessary to form a structural bond between slip-in rib 221 and the interior surface of skin 213. Although mechanical fasteners may be used, it is preferred that structural adhesive be used to form the structural bond. One method of forming this bond is to use a self-contained displacement mechanism to force structural adhesive 241 outward into contact with the interior surface of skin 213. This method is illustrated in
In the method of
In the method of
It should be understood that although the embodiments of
As forth above, mechanical retainers may be used instead of structural adhesive to secure the slip-in ribs in place within the box beam. Some mechanical retainers include: shims with snap-in receivers, spring biased buttons, and leaf springs, to name a few.
The slip-in ribs of the present invention reduce the complexity of the assembly of box beam structures, particularly in applications where the number of parts has been reduced. This is because the slip-in ribs of the present invention are not directly dependent upon the number of joints where manufacturing tolerances are accommodated. Also, the installation of fasteners into box beam structure presents difficulties such as access to small interior spaces and sealing requirements. The process by which the slip-in ribs of the present invention are installed accommodates tolerance buildup, resulting in reduced part count. This reduces manufacturing labor because fastener installation is eliminated.
By using the slip-in ribs according to the present invention, the costs associated with manufacturing a closed-box structure can be reduced due to relaxed tolerances and the ability to reduce part count without incurring additional assembly cost. Because the rib/box bond is secondary, failure of the rib/box bond is not a significant structural concern as long as the rib position in the box is retained.
Using slip-in ribs that can be bonded in place with a process that accommodates tolerance build-up results in reduced part count, as installing one-piece ribs in one-piece structural box beams is possible; and manufacturing labor is reduced, as fastener installation is eliminated.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to a slip-in rib having basically the same shape and contour as the geometrical cross-section of the structural box beam, it should be understood that the concept of the present invention, i.e., the ability to internally support the box beam using compression-only load paths, may be achieved by other means, as well, including the use of rigid, elongated rods placed between ribs or spars, the rods not being fixed to the internal surface of the box beam. These rods resist buckling of the skins by maintaining the desired spacing between internal stiffening members.
It is apparent that an invention with significant advantages has been described and illustrated. Although the present invention is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US04/05585 | 2/24/2004 | WO | 6/12/2006 |