Satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel bonding assembly mold

Abstract

This invention provides a bonding and assembly mold for carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels used in satellites, including a pressure equalizing plate, a positioning base plate, a pad, a retaining strip, retaining strip gaskets, fastening screws, positioning screws, and limiting pins. The pad and positioning base plate are placed sequentially on a roller platform, with their openings aligned. Fastening screws are then passed through the positioning base plate and retaining strip sequentially to install the retaining strip onto the positioning base plate. Limiting pins are then passed through the retaining strip and positioning base plate sequentially to limit the retaining strip's position. The retaining strip gasket is attached to the inner side of the retaining strip. A lower skin with adhesive film applied is placed in the mold, with the adhesive film facing upwards. The honeycomb core is then placed. The positions of the front and side embedded parts are confirmed, and the honeycomb cores at the corresponding positions are cut. Positioning screws are then passed through the positioning base plate and lower skin sequentially to position the front embedded part. Positioning screws are then passed through the retaining strip and retaining strip gasket sequentially to position the side embedded part. An upper skin with adhesive film applied is placed, with the adhesive film facing downwards. The pressure equalizing plate is placed, and positioning screws are then passed through the pressure equalizing plate and upper skin sequentially to position the front embedded part. This invention can be used for the bonding, assembly, and high-temperature curing of carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels for satellites.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of composite material assembly technology, specifically, it relates to a bonding and assembly mold for carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels used in satellites. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, satellite honeycomb panels mainly include two types: aluminum skin honeycomb panels and carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels. Aluminum skin honeycomb panels are widely used due to their low cost and excellent thermal and electrical conductivity. However, due to the limitations of launch vehicle propulsion capabilities, the weight of some satellite structures is strictly controlled. Using aluminum skin honeycomb panels often leads to excessive weight in the satellite structure, affecting the successful launch of the satellite.

[0003] Patent document CN113815240B discloses an aluminum skin honeycomb panel adhesive molding die and its surrounding strip. The surrounding strip for the aluminum skin honeycomb panel adhesive molding die provided by this patent document can be adapted to different types of surrounding strip pads through a detachable connection method. The surrounding strip body can be reused, realizing the rapid assembly of different types of honeycomb panel tooling molds.

[0004] In practical implementation, unlike aluminum-skinned honeycomb panels, the low coefficient of thermal expansion of carbon fiber skin, coupled with the fact that satellite carbon fiber-skinned honeycomb panels are mostly cured at high temperatures, makes the selection of materials for the retaining strips in the bonding and assembly molds of carbon fiber-skinned honeycomb panels extremely difficult. Using metals with low coefficients of thermal expansion, such as Invar, to prepare the corresponding tooling retaining strips would significantly increase the manufacturing and maintenance costs of the molds. Conversely, using metals with high coefficients of thermal expansion, such as aluminum alloys, would cause the metal retaining strips to transmit significant shear forces to the skin through the side embedded parts during the cooling process after high-temperature curing, potentially leading to damage within the panel and insufficient positioning accuracy of the embedded parts, thus affecting the normal use of the honeycomb panel. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this invention is to provide a bonding and assembly mold for carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels used in satellites.

[0006] According to the present invention, a bonding and assembly mold for a carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel for satellites includes a pressure equalizing plate 1, a positioning base plate 2, a pad 3, a surrounding strip 4, a surrounding strip gasket 5, a fastening screw 6, a positioning screw 7, and a limiting pin 8.

[0007] The fastening screw 6 passes through the positioning base plate 2 and the surrounding strip 4 in sequence, and fastens the surrounding strip 4 to the positioning base plate 2.

[0008] The positioning screw 7 is used to fix the embedded part 14 in the plate; the embedded part 14 in the plate includes: a front embedded part 12 and a side embedded part 13;

[0009] Positioning screws 7 pass through positioning base plate 2 and lower skin 10 in sequence to position front embedded part 12;

[0010] Positioning screws 7 pass through pressure equalizing plate 1 and upper skin 9 in sequence to position the front embedded part 12;

[0011] Positioning screws 7 pass through the surrounding strip 4 and the surrounding strip washer 5 in sequence to position the side embedded part 13;

[0012] The limiting pin 8 passes through the limiting hole of the surrounding strip 4 and the opening of the positioning substrate 2 from top to bottom.

[0013] The equalizing plate 1, positioning base plate 2, pad 3, surrounding strip 4, and surrounding strip gasket 5 are all independent parts.

[0014] Preferably, the equalizing plate 1, the positioning base plate 2, and the surrounding strip pad 5 are made of carbon fiber, and the pad plate 3 and the surrounding strip 4 are made of aluminum alloy.

[0015] Preferably, the limiting hole of each strip 4 includes only one round hole and at least one waist-shaped hole.

[0016] Preferably, the positioning holes of the side embedded parts 13 of each strip 4 include only one round hole, and the others are all oblong holes, and the positioning holes of the side embedded parts 13 on the strip pad 5 are all round holes.

[0017] Preferably, the distance between the limiting hole and the positioning hole of the retaining strip 4 does not exceed 50mm. The oblong hole of the retaining strip 4 ensures that the positioning screw 7 and the limiting pin 8 can slide freely during high-temperature curing and cooling.

[0018] Preferably, the front embedded part 12 is positioned to the honeycomb core 11; the side embedded part 13 is positioned to the honeycomb core 11.

[0019] Preferably, the skin 9 and lower skin 10 on the honeycomb plate inside the mold are made of carbon fiber, and the honeycomb core 11 is a perforated aluminum honeycomb.

[0020] Preferably, the positioning screw 7 has three positioning methods, including bottom to top, top to bottom, and side to outside to inside.

[0021] Preferably, the pad 3 has an opening; the portions of the fastening screw 6, the positioning screw 7, and the limiting pin 8 that extend out of the positioning base plate 2 can be placed inside the opening of the pad 3, without protruding from the lower surface of the pad.

[0022] According to the present invention, a method for bonding and assembling carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels for satellites is provided, comprising the aforementioned bonding and assembly mold for carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels for satellites, including:

[0023] Place the pad 3 and the positioning base plate 2 on the roller platform in sequence, align the opening of the pad 3 with the opening of the positioning base plate 2, and the opening of the pad 3 is used to avoid the screw head passing through the positioning base plate 2; use the fastening screw 6 to pass through the positioning base plate 2 and the surrounding strip 4 from bottom to top, and install the surrounding strip 4 on the positioning base plate 2 to make the surrounding strip 4 and the positioning base plate 2 securely connected, and the head of the fastening screw 6 is in the opening of the pad 3 and does not protrude from the lower surface of the pad 3;

[0024] The limiting pin 8 is used to pass through the limiting hole of the strip 4 and the opening of the positioning base plate 2 from top to bottom, and the limiting pin 8 does not protrude from the lower surface of the pad 3.

[0025] The inner side of the retaining strip 5 is attached to the retaining strip 4. The lower skin 10 with adhesive film is placed in the mold with the adhesive film facing upward. The honeycomb core 11 is placed. The positions of the front embedded part 12 and the side embedded part 13 are confirmed, and the honeycomb core 11 at the corresponding positions is cut. The front embedded part 12 and the side embedded part 13 are assembled. The positioning screw 7 is passed through the positioning base plate 2 and the lower skin 10 in sequence to position the front embedded part 12. The positioning screw 7 is passed through the retaining strip 4 and the retaining strip 5 in sequence to position the side embedded part 13. The upper skin 9 with adhesive film is placed with the adhesive film facing downward. The pressure equalizing plate 1 is placed. The positioning screw 7 is passed through the pressure equalizing plate 1 and the upper skin 9 in sequence to position the front embedded part 12.

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0027] 1. Since carbon fiber skin has a lower density than aluminum skin, replacing some aluminum skin honeycomb panels in the satellite structure with carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels can be a reliable way to reduce the weight of the satellite structure, and carbon fiber skin has better thermal stability.

[0028] 2. Due to the low coefficient of thermal expansion of carbon fiber skin, and the fact that most carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels for satellites are cured at high temperatures, the selection of materials for the surrounding strips in the bonding and assembly mold is extremely difficult. This invention solves the manufacturing problem of bonding and assembling carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels by using carbon fiber materials for the upper and lower skins, pressure equalizing plates, positioning base plates and surrounding strip pads, and aluminum alloy materials for the pads and surrounding strips, as well as precise opening forms, opening positions and opening sizes.

[0029] 3. Because this invention can be used in both room temperature and high temperature curing environments, it solves the problems of high cooling stress in honeycomb panels and insufficient positioning accuracy of embedded parts caused by the mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients between aluminum alloy strips and carbon fiber skin. The high temperature in the high-temperature curing process refers to 90℃~130℃. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the front structure.

[0032] Figure 2 for Figure 1 AA section view in the image.

[0033] Figure 3 for Figure 1 BB section view in the middle.

[0034] Figure 4 for Figure 1 CC section view in the image.

[0035] Figure 5 for Figure 1 DD section view in the image.

[0036] Figure 6 This is the front view of the equalizing plate.

[0037] Figure 7 This is the front view of the positioning substrate.

[0038] Figure 8 This is the front view of the pad.

[0039] Figure 9 This is the front view of the retaining strip gasket.

[0040] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram showing the correspondence between the front view, bottom view, top view, and right view of the enclosure strip.

[0041] Figure 11 This is an isometric drawing of the enclosure strip.

[0042] The diagram shows:

[0043] Detailed Implementation

[0044] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0045] The principle upon which this invention is based is: using carbon fiber as the skin material and perforated aluminum honeycomb as the honeycomb core, and by limiting the material of the assembly mold and the precision requirements of the mold size, the carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel of this invention is more suitable for satellite structures.

[0046] like Figures 1 to 11As shown, this invention provides a bonding and assembly mold for a satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel, comprising a pressure equalizing plate 1, a positioning base plate 2, a pad 3, a retaining strip 4, a retaining strip washer 5, fastening screws 6, positioning screws 7, and limiting pins 8. The lower skin 10, honeycomb core 11, embedded parts 14, upper skin 9, and pressure equalizing plate 1 are sequentially assembled within the mold. The embedded parts 14 include a front embedded part 12 and a side embedded part 13. The front embedded part 12 is positioned using positioning screws 7 passing through the pressure equalizing plate 1 or the positioning base plate 2. The side embedded part 13 is positioned using positioning screws 7 passing through the retaining strip 4 and the retaining strip washer 5. The honeycomb panel skin material within the mold is carbon fiber, and the honeycomb core is a perforated aluminum honeycomb.

[0047] Furthermore, the functions and implementation of each part are explained.

[0048] like Figures 1 to 9 As shown, the pressure equalizing plate 1, positioning base plate 2, and surrounding strip gasket 5 have single-sided adhesive release cloth attached to their contact surfaces with the product. The positioning base plate 2 is made of 3mm thick material, while the pressure equalizing plate 1 and surrounding strip gasket 5 are 1.5mm thick, and both are made of carbon fiber.

[0049] like Figure 4 As shown, in use, the present invention involves placing a pad 3 and a positioning base plate 2 sequentially on a roller platform cart, aligning the openings of the pad 3 and the positioning base plate 2. The openings in the pad 3 are designed to avoid the screw heads passing through the positioning base plate 2, and are typically ≥φ15mm. Fastening screws 6 are then passed sequentially from bottom to top through the positioning base plate 2 and the retaining strip 4, installing the retaining strip 4 onto the positioning base plate 2 to securely connect the retaining strip 4 and the positioning base plate 2. The heads of the fastening screws 6 are within the openings in the pad 3 and do not protrude from the lower surface of the pad 3.

[0050] like Figure 5 As shown, the limiting pin 8 passes through the limiting hole of the strip 4 and the opening of the positioning base plate 2 from top to bottom, and the limiting pin 8 does not protrude from the lower surface of the pad 3.

[0051] like Figure 2 As shown, the inner side of the retaining strip 5 is attached to the retaining strip 4. The lower skin 10 with adhesive film is placed in the mold with the adhesive film facing upward. The honeycomb core 11 is placed. The positions of the front embedded part 12 and the side embedded part 13 are confirmed, and the honeycomb cores at the corresponding positions are cut. The front embedded part 12 and the side embedded part 13 are assembled. The positioning screws 7 are used to position the front embedded part 12 by passing through the positioning base plate 2 and the lower skin 10 in sequence. The positioning screws 7 are used to position the side embedded part 13 by passing through the retaining strip 4 and the retaining strip 5 in sequence. The upper skin 9 with adhesive film is placed with the adhesive film facing downward. The pressure equalizing plate 1 is placed. The positioning screws 7 are used to position the front embedded part 12 by passing through the pressure equalizing plate 1 and the upper skin 9 in sequence.

[0052] like Figures 9 to 11As shown, each side embedded part 13 of the retaining strip 4 has only one round hole for positioning, while the others are all oblong holes. The side embedded part 13 positioning holes on the retaining strip gasket 5 are all round holes, which ensures that the positioning screw 7 can slide freely in the oblong holes of the retaining strip 4 during the heating curing and cooling process. This avoids the interaction force generated when the thermal expansion coefficients of the retaining strip 4 and the retaining strip gasket 5 are mismatched, thereby improving the dimensional accuracy of the hole spacing of the side embedded part 13 of the carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel.

[0053] Vacuum bags are made and then cured at high temperature in an oven.

[0054] Furthermore, in this example, the positioning error of the side embedded part 13 is mainly caused by the distance between the limiting circular hole and the positioning circular hole of the surrounding strip 4. The distance between the two is 28.5mm, the room temperature is 25℃, and the high temperature curing temperature is 90℃. At this time, the maximum thermal deformation generated between the limiting circular hole and the positioning circular hole is about 0.043mm, which leads to the hole edge distance dimension error of the side embedded part 13 being 0.043mm. The opening of the side embedded part 13 is often used for satellite structure assembly. Since the gap of the connecting hole through which the screw passes during the assembly of the satellite structure is 0.25mm, the carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel manufactured in this example can meet the requirements of satellite structure use. However, when designing the mold, it is still necessary to minimize the distance between the limiting round hole and the positioning round hole of the surrounding strip 4, and improve the hole edge distance accuracy of the embedded part 13 on the side of the honeycomb panel. Considering that there are other dimensional errors in the satellite structure, in a curing environment of 90℃~130℃, the bonding and assembly mold for a carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel for satellite provided by this invention requires the distance between the limiting round hole and the positioning round hole of the surrounding strip 4 to be ≤50mm, so as to ensure the hole position dimensional accuracy of the embedded part on the side of the carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel.

[0055] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0056] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A mold for bonding and assembling carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels for satellites, characterized in that, Includes equalizing plate (1), positioning base plate (2), pad (3), surrounding strip (4), surrounding strip gasket (5), fastening screw (6), positioning screw (7), and limiting pin (8); The fastening screw (6) passes through the positioning base plate (2) and the surrounding strip (4) in sequence, and fastens the surrounding strip (4) to the positioning base plate (2); The positioning screw (7) is used to fix the embedded parts in the plate; the embedded parts in the plate include: the front embedded part (12) and the side embedded part (13); The positioning screws (7) pass through the positioning base plate (2) and the lower skin (10) in sequence to position the front embedded part (12); The positioning screws (7) pass through the pressure equalizing plate (1) and the upper skin (9) in sequence to position the front embedded part (12); The positioning screw (7) passes through the surrounding strip (4) and the surrounding strip washer (5) in sequence to position the side embedded part (13); The limiting pin (8) passes through the limiting hole of the surrounding strip (4) and the opening of the positioning base plate (2) from top to bottom. The limiting hole of each surrounding strip (4) contains only one round hole and at least one waist-shaped hole. The positioning hole of the side embedded part (13) of each surrounding strip (4) contains only one round hole, and the others are all waist-shaped holes. The positioning holes of the side embedded part (13) on the surrounding strip pad (5) are all round holes. The equalizing plate (1), positioning base plate (2), pad (3), surrounding strip (4), and surrounding strip gasket (5) are all independent parts; The equalizing plate (1), positioning base plate (2), and surrounding strip pad (5) are made of carbon fiber, and the pad (3) and surrounding strip (4) are made of aluminum alloy. The distance between the limiting hole and the positioning hole of the surrounding strip (4) does not exceed 50mm; the waist-shaped hole of the surrounding strip (4) can ensure that the positioning screw (7) and the limiting pin (8) can slide freely during high-temperature curing and cooling.

2. The satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel bonding assembly mold according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front embedded part (12) is positioned to the honeycomb core (11); the side embedded part (13) is positioned to the honeycomb core (11).

3. The satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel bonding and assembly mold according to claim 2, characterized in that, The inner honeycomb plate skin (9) and lower skin (10) are made of carbon fiber, and the honeycomb core (11) is made of perforated aluminum honeycomb.

4. The satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel bonding and assembly mold according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are three ways to position the positioning screw (7): from bottom to top, from top to bottom, and from the outside to the inside from the side.

5. The satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel bonding and assembly mold according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pad (3) has an opening; the parts of the fastening screw (6), positioning screw (7) and limiting pin (8) that extend out of the positioning base plate (2) can be placed in the opening of the pad (3) without protruding from the lower surface of the pad.

6. A method for bonding and assembling carbon fiber skin honeycomb panels for satellites, characterized in that, The satellite carbon fiber skin honeycomb panel bonding assembly mold according to any one of claims 1 to 5 includes: Place the pad (3) and the positioning base plate (2) on the roller platform in sequence, align the opening of the pad (3) with the opening of the positioning base plate (2), and the opening of the pad (3) is used to avoid the screw head passing through the positioning base plate (2); use the fastening screw (6) to pass through the positioning base plate (2) and the surrounding strip (4) from bottom to top, and install the surrounding strip (4) on the positioning base plate (2), with the head of the fastening screw (6) inside the opening of the pad (3) and not protruding from the lower surface of the pad (3); Using the limiting pin (8), pass through the limiting hole of the strip (4) and the opening of the positioning base plate (2) from top to bottom, and the limiting pin (8) does not protrude from the lower surface of the pad (3). The inner side of the retaining strip gasket (5) is attached to the retaining strip (4). The lower skin (10) with adhesive film is placed in the mold with the adhesive film facing upward. The honeycomb core (11) is placed. The positions of the front embedded part (12) and the side embedded part (13) are confirmed, and the honeycomb core (11) at the corresponding positions is cut. The front embedded part (12) and the side embedded part (13) are assembled. The positioning screw (7) is passed through the positioning base plate (2) and the lower skin (10) in sequence to position the front embedded part (12). The positioning screw (7) is passed through the retaining strip (4) and the retaining strip gasket (5) in sequence to position the side embedded part (13). The upper skin (9) with adhesive film is placed with the adhesive film facing downward. The pressure equalizing plate (1) is placed. The positioning screw (7) is passed through the pressure equalizing plate (1) and the upper skin (9) in sequence to position the front embedded part (12).

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