Impact resistant aircraft leading edge structures and aircraft including the same

Abstract

Aircraft empennage structures have impact resistance satisfying transport aircraft certification requirements (for example, FAR part 25 and / or other international certification requirements). The structures may be specifically embodied in leading edge structures that are preferably in the form of one-piece components formed from fiber-reinforced composite materials (e.g., reinforcement fibers such as glass fibers, aramid fibers and / or carbon fibers embedded in a polymeric matrix such as an epoxy resin). The leading edge structures will most preferably include an arcuate skin (12) and longitudinally extending internal reinforcement which is generally Y-shaped and includes a planar rib element (16) and a pair of planar divergent reinforcement arms (18-1,18-2). The rib element may be positioned so as to be coplanar with a longitudinal bisecting plane (BP) of the leading edge structure. A forward end of the rib element may thus be integrally attached aft of an apical end of the skin, whereas an aft end of the rib may be integrally attached to each of the reinforcement arms. According to certain embodiments, rigidity and thus impact resistance may be facilitated by providing the apical end of the skin with a greater cross-sectional thickness as compared to the attachment ends of the skin.

Description

technical field [0001] The structure disclosed herein relates generally to an aircraft having a shock-resistant leading edge. Background technique [0002] The airworthiness certification requirements for transport aircraft under Part 25 of the U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs, 14CFR) and other equivalent international certification requirements usually require that the aircraft structure can withstand a certain degree of flight shocks, such as bird strikes, and will not Deactivating the fuselage frame allows the vehicle to continue flying and land safely. Components such as empennage leading edges (eg wings and horizontal and vertical stabilizers) are extremely critical components of the fuselage frame. Therefore, to meet the specific discrete source damage certification requirements of FAR Part 25 (herein incorporated by reference), the aircraft must withstand 4 lbs (FAR §25.571[e][1]) and 8 lbs (FAR §25.631) strikes of birds. [0003] To ensure the structural in...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This conventional option of providing a splitter plate associated with the leading edge of the stabilizer works well, but adds significantly larger pressure due to the fact that the splitter plate is usually in the form of a rigid structural component made of metal such as aluminum or steel. weight

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