An integral aircraft engine lip and its forming device and method

Abstract

The present invention discloses an integral aircraft engine lip and its forming device and method, belonging to the field of aircraft manufacturing technology. The forming device includes a forming die, a transition ring and an extrusion component, the forming die includes a punch, a die and a core die, and the extrusion component includes an extrusion barrel and an extrusion rod. The forming die is tightly connected to the extrusion barrel through the transition ring; the extrusion rod is used to divert the metal blank in the extrusion barrel through the core die and then enter the flow channel formed by the die and the core die, and then flow into the mold cavity formed by the punch and the die to realize metal filling and forming, thereby obtaining a preformed component; the transition ring is removed and the metal residue is cut off; the forming die is disassembled to take out the formed preformed component and process it to obtain an integral aircraft engine lip. The forming die structure design of the present invention is flexible and has strong forming adaptability. The forming method has a short process, is near the net shape, has high efficiency and low cost, and can obtain an integral aircraft engine lip with high precision and excellent comprehensive performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of aircraft manufacturing, and in particular relates to an integral aircraft engine lip and a forming device and method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Aircraft engine lip, located at the leading edge of the jet engine nacelle, is subjected to long-term, ultra-high-intensity, complex load conditions, significantly impacting the engine's aerodynamic layout and service performance. With the continuous development of the aerospace industry, requirements for the comprehensive performance, reliability, lightweighting, and shape and size of aircraft engine lip are becoming increasingly stringent. These lip lip are trending towards larger, more integrated components, more complex structures, thinner walls, lighter materials, and more precise dimensions.

[0003] Currently, aircraft engine lips come in two types: spliced ​​and integral. Spliced ​​engine lips typically consist of three to four lip parts, assembled from sheet metal or tubing using deep drawing, bulging, or drop forming followed by riveting or welding. Because the lip is manufactured using a split-flap forming method, not only is the stress distribution uneven, but the V-shaped lip also experiences severe springback after forming. This results in low lip shape precision, impacting the aerodynamic shape of the spliced ​​aircraft engine lip. Furthermore, relative sliding between the sheet metal and the die during split-flap forming can easily occur, causing wrinkling on the inner ring of the lip. This requires subsequent manual repair, severely impacting the surface quality of the spliced ​​aircraft engine lip. Consequently, spliced ​​aircraft engine lips currently suffer from significant quality issues such as low forming precision, increased weld weight, and extensive reshaping. The integral aircraft engine lip overcomes the quality shortcomings of the spliced ​​aircraft engine lip and becomes an ideal alternative to the spliced ​​aircraft engine lip. It is a research hotspot and development direction. At present, it is usually manufactured based on metal sheets or metal pipes using an integral forming method of liquid filling or stamping. However, there are problems such as unqualified surface quality, serious surface tolerances, complex manufacturing process, performance that is difficult to meet the use requirements and high price.

[0004] In view of this, it is urgent to develop a new method for forming the lip of an integral aircraft engine with high precision, short process, high efficiency and low cost to meet the urgent need for integrally formed thin wall thickness, large size, complex shape, high precision and excellent performance of the integral aircraft engine lip. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an integral aircraft engine lip and its forming device and method, based on a metal billet, using one-step forming to complete the near-net shape forming of the integral aircraft engine lip, thereby solving the quality problems and forming difficulties of the existing integral aircraft engine lip, and realizing a short process and efficient integral forming of the integral aircraft engine lip with thin wall thickness, large size, complex shape, high precision, high performance and low cost.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the technical solution of the present invention, there is provided a forming device for an integral aircraft engine lip, comprising a forming die, a transition ring, and an extrusion component, wherein the forming die comprises a male die, a female die, and a core die, and the extrusion component comprises an extrusion cylinder and an extrusion rod;

[0007] The punch is an annular boss structure, and the convex mold surface is completely consistent with the inner surface of the circular ring inner cavity surface of the integral aircraft engine lip;

[0008] The concave mold is an annular sleeve structure, and the mold cavity surface formed by the concave mold surface and the convex mold surface in the mold closing state is completely consistent with the outer surface surface of the integral aircraft engine lip;

[0009] The core mold is a rod-shaped structure with a conical top surface, and the cavity surface formed by the core mold surface and the convex mold surface in the mold closing state is completely consistent with the center hole surface of the lip of the integral aircraft engine;

[0010] wherein the transition ring is installed between the forming die and the extrusion component so as to cut off the metal excess there;

[0011] The extrusion rod is nested in the extrusion cylinder and is used to push and extrude the metal blank toward the forming die.

[0012] Furthermore, the forming die is tightly connected to the extrusion cylinder through the transition ring.

[0013] Furthermore, in the forming mold, the core mold is located in the annular sleeve structure of the female mold, and a flow channel is formed between the two; the female mold is located outside the annular boss structure of the male mold, and a mold cavity is formed between the two.

[0014] Furthermore, the conicity of the core mold is determined according to the properties of the metal blank; wherein the metal blank is an aluminum alloy, a titanium alloy or a composite material.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the technical solution of the present invention, a method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip is provided, wherein the forming device according to any of the above aspects is used to perform one-step forming, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0016] Step 1: Assemble the male mold, the female mold and the core mold into the forming mold, and tightly connect them to the extrusion cylinder through the transition ring;

[0017] Step 2: placing the metal billet into the extrusion cylinder;

[0018] Step 3: Pushing the extrusion rod, the metal blank in the extrusion cylinder is diverted through the core mold, enters the flow channel formed by the female mold and the core mold, and then flows into the mold cavity formed by the male mold and the female mold, thereby completing the filling and forming of the metal to obtain a preformed component;

[0019] Step 4: Remove the transition ring, cut off the metal residue at the corresponding position of the transition ring, and separate the extrusion cylinder containing the metal residue from the forming die containing the preformed component;

[0020] Step 5: removing the forming mold containing the preformed component, disassembling the forming mold, and taking out the formed preformed component;

[0021] Step 6: Processing the preformed component to obtain an integral aircraft engine lip.

[0022] Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the preformed component is "O"-shaped, oblong, elliptical, "V"-shaped or "W"-shaped.

[0023] Furthermore, at least one of the metal blank, the extrusion cylinder, the extrusion rod or the forming die is heated.

[0024] Furthermore, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the forming mold.

[0025] Furthermore, the integral aircraft engine lip is post-processed.

[0026] According to a third aspect of the technical solution of the present invention, a high-precision and high-performance integral aircraft engine lip is provided, wherein the integral aircraft engine lip is manufactured using the forming method of the integral aircraft engine lip according to any of the above aspects.

[0027] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0028] 1. The design of the forming device for an integral aircraft engine lip of the present invention fully considers variable cross-section, reduced diameter extrusion, and differential extrusion. When the metal billet is extruded onto the conical raised portion at the top of the core die, a first variable cross-section, reduced diameter extrusion deformation occurs. This diverts metal flow to the surrounding areas, promoting coordination between grains during extrusion and reducing extrusion pressure. As the metal billet continues to be extruded onto the top of the annular boss of the punch, the cross-sectional area of ​​the channel formed by the core and die decreases, resulting in a second variable cross-section, reduced diameter extrusion deformation, which refines the grains. As the metal billet continues to flow, the friction between the metal billet and the contact surfaces of the punch, core, and die differs, causing differential extrusion deformation, further refining the grains, reducing extrusion pressure, and promoting the precise formation of preformed components. The forming device of the present invention features a flexible structural design, easy replacement, strong forming adaptability, and easily controllable forming process. It is low-cost and easily adaptable to the formation of products with varying shapes, sizes, and performance requirements.

[0029] 2. The present invention's method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip is based on a metal billet and utilizes a one-step forming process to achieve near-net-shape, integrally formed lip shapes. Compared to conventional split-piece forming and connection structures, the present invention's integrally formed structure reduces weight by over 10%, avoiding the problems of low forming precision, increased weld weight, extensive shaping, and low production efficiency associated with split-piece forming and connection. The present invention's one-step forming process reduces the occurrence of surface and internal cracks in the preformed component, resulting in uniform deformation and stress distribution, high dimensional accuracy, fine grain size, and high strength. This avoids the high processing costs, substandard surface quality, severe surface tolerance deviations, complex manufacturing processes, and performance that fails to meet application requirements associated with conventional integral forming processes. Furthermore, the present invention's forming method can also apply an external field during the forming process, either through heating or heating coupled with ultrasonic waves, to reduce material deformation resistance, increase metal fluidity, and lower friction between the metal billet and the die surface. Therefore, the present invention's forming method offers advantages such as low forming force, large deformation, a short process flow, near-net-shape, high efficiency, low cost, and ease of industrial production.

[0030] 3. The integrated aircraft engine lip of the present invention is formed by extruding a metal billet into a near-net shape through a forming device. It has the advantages of fine grains, dense structure, precise shape and size, good surface quality, and excellent overall performance. It also facilitates the overall assembly of the integrated aircraft engine lip and shortens the assembly cycle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the forming device for the integral aircraft engine lip of the present invention, wherein: 1 - extrusion rod, 2 - metal blank, 3 - extrusion cylinder, 4 - transition ring, 5 - core mold, 6 - concave mold, 7 - punch. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It is necessary to point out that the examples are only used to further illustrate the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make non-essential improvements and adjustments based on the above-mentioned contents of the present invention.

[0033] It should be noted that the drawings are only examples and are not drawn to scale, and should not be used to limit the actual scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0034] The technical solution of the present invention provides a forming device for an integral aircraft engine lip. Figure 1 The structure of the forming device for the integral aircraft engine lip is shown. The forming device includes a forming die, a transition ring and an extrusion component. The forming die includes a punch 7, a die 6 and a core die 5 structure, which respectively correspond to the inner surface circular ring cavity, outer surface and center hole of the integral aircraft engine lip; the extrusion component includes an extrusion cylinder and an extrusion rod.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the punch 7 is an annular boss structure, and the convex mold surface is completely consistent with the inner surface of the circular inner cavity surface of the integral aircraft engine lip; the die 6 is an annular sleeve structure, and the mold cavity surface formed by the concave mold surface and the convex mold surface in the mold closing state is completely consistent with the outer surface of the integral aircraft engine lip; the core mold 5 is a rod-shaped structure with a conical top surface, and the cavity surface formed by the core mold surface and the convex mold surface in the mold closing state is completely consistent with the center hole surface of the integral aircraft engine lip.

[0036] The technical solution of the present invention further provides a method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip, which uses the forming device described above to perform one-step forming. The method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip includes the following steps:

[0037] Step 1: Assemble the male mold 7, female mold 6 and core mold 5 into a forming mold, and tightly connect them to the extrusion cylinder 3 through the transition ring 4;

[0038] Step 2: Place the metal billet 2 into the extrusion cylinder 3;

[0039] Step 3: Push the extrusion rod 1, and the metal blank 2 in the extrusion cylinder 3 is diverted through the core mold 5, enters the flow channel formed by the die 6 and the core mold 5, and then flows into the mold cavity formed by the punch 7 and the die 6, realizing the filling and forming of the metal to obtain a preformed component;

[0040] Step 4: Remove the transition ring 4 and cut off the metal residue at the corresponding position of the transition ring 4 to separate the extrusion cylinder 3 containing the metal residue from the forming die containing the preformed component;

[0041] Step 5: Remove the forming mold containing the preformed component, disassemble the forming mold, and take out the formed preformed component;

[0042] Step 6: Process the preformed component to obtain an integral aircraft engine lip.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the preformed component is one of an "O" shape, an oblong shape, an elliptical shape, a "V" shape or a "W" shape;

[0044] In a preferred embodiment, the metal blank 2 is an aluminum alloy, a titanium alloy or a composite material.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, at least one of the metal blank 2 , the extrusion cylinder 3 , the extrusion rod 1 or the forming die is heated.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the forming die.

[0047] In a preferred embodiment, an integral aircraft engine lip is post-processed.

[0048] The technical solution of the present invention also provides a high-precision and high-performance integral aircraft engine lip, which is manufactured using the forming method of the integral aircraft engine lip described above.

[0049] Example 1:

[0050] Forming of 2618 aluminum alloy elliptical integral aircraft engine lip.

[0051] The maximum diameter of the 2618 aluminum alloy elliptical integral aircraft engine lip is 2900 mm, the minimum diameter is 290 mm, and the thickness is 2.5 mm. The punch, die, and core mold structure of the lip are designed. The punch, die, and core mold are assembled into a forming mold and tightly connected to the extrusion cylinder through a transition ring. The 2618 aluminum alloy billet, extrusion cylinder, extrusion rod, and forming mold are heated to 480℃ and kept at this temperature for 0.3 h, then transferring the 2618 aluminum alloy billet into the extrusion cavity; pushing the extrusion rod to divert the 2618 aluminum alloy billet through the core die, entering the flow channel formed by the die and the core die, and then flowing into the die cavity formed by the punch and the die. During the filling and forming process, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the forming die to promote the flow of the metal billet, realize metal filling and forming, and obtain a 2618 aluminum alloy elliptical integral aircraft engine lip preformed component; removing the transition ring and cutting off the metal excess; disassembling the forming die, taking out the formed 2618 aluminum alloy elliptical integral aircraft engine lip preformed component, and machining the upper edge surface to the finished product size to obtain the 2618 aluminum alloy elliptical integral aircraft engine lip.

[0052] Example 2:

[0053] Forming of TC2M titanium alloy "O" type integral aircraft engine lip.

[0054] The maximum diameter of the TC2M titanium alloy "O" type integral aircraft engine lip is 2100 mm, the minimum diameter is 200 mm, and the thickness is 2.5 mm. The punch, die, and core mold structure of the lip are designed; the punch, die, and core mold are assembled into a forming mold and tightly connected to the extrusion cylinder through a transition ring; the TC2M titanium alloy billet, extrusion cylinder, extrusion rod, and forming mold are heated to 1050℃ and kept at this temperature for 0.5 h, and then transferring the TC2M titanium alloy billet to the extrusion cavity; pushing the extrusion rod to divert the TC2M titanium alloy billet through the core die, and then entering the flow channel formed by the die and the core die, and then flowing into the die cavity formed by the punch and the die. During the filling and forming process, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the forming die to promote the flow of the metal billet, realize the filling and forming of the metal, and obtain the TC2M titanium alloy "O"-shaped integral aircraft engine lip preformed component; remove the transition ring and cut off the metal residue; disassemble the forming die, take out the formed TC2M titanium alloy "O"-shaped integral aircraft engine lip preformed component, and machine the upper edge surface to the finished product size to obtain the TC2M titanium alloy "O"-shaped integral aircraft engine lip.

[0055] Example 3:

[0056] Forming of 2219 aluminum alloy oblong integral aircraft engine lip.

[0057] The maximum diameter of the lip of the 2219 aluminum alloy oblong integral aircraft engine is 3100 mm, the minimum diameter is 300 mm, and the thickness is 2.5 mm. The punch, die and core mold structure of the lip are designed; the punch, die and core mold are assembled into a forming mold and tightly connected to the extrusion cylinder through a transition ring; the 2219 aluminum alloy billet, extrusion cylinder, extrusion rod and forming mold are heated to 500℃ and kept at this temperature for 0.2 h, and then transferring the 2219 aluminum alloy billet to the extrusion cavity; pushing the extrusion rod to divert the 2219 aluminum alloy billet through the core mold, and then entering the flow channel formed by the die and the core mold, and then flowing into the mold cavity formed by the punch and the die. During the filling and forming process, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the forming mold to promote the flow of the metal billet, realize the filling and forming of the metal, and obtain the 2219 aluminum alloy oblong integral aircraft engine lip preformed component; remove the transition ring and cut off the metal residue; disassemble the forming mold, take out the formed 2219 aluminum alloy oblong integral aircraft engine lip preformed component, and machine the upper edge surface to the finished product size to obtain the 2219 aluminum alloy oblong integral aircraft engine lip.

[0058] Thus, the technical solution of the present invention provides an integrated aircraft engine lip and its forming device and method. According to the required forming capacity of the metal billet and the lip size, the lip integral forming device is designed, comprising a forming die consisting of a die, a punch, and a core die, a transition ring, and an extrusion component consisting of an extrusion rod and an extrusion barrel. The die, the punch, and the core die are respectively used to form the inner surface annular cavity, the outer surface, and the center hole of the integrated aircraft engine lip. The designed die is assembled and then connected to the extrusion barrel. The metal billet is placed in the extrusion barrel, the extrusion rod is pushed, and the billet is extruded into the forming die for filling and forming. The billet is cut, the die is removed, and the integrated aircraft engine lip is demolded to obtain the integrated aircraft engine lip. The advantages of the present invention are that the forming device design fully considers the variable cross-section to achieve diameter reduction extrusion and differential extrusion, can refine the grain size, reduce the extrusion force, and promote the precise forming of the preformed component. The device structure design is flexible, easy to replace, has strong forming adaptability, is easy to control the forming process, is low in cost, and can easily obtain a preformed component with fine grains, dense structure, precise shape and size, good surface quality, and excellent overall performance. The one-step forming of the integral aircraft engine lip is realized. The integral forming structure reduces the weight by more than 10% compared with the traditional petal forming connection structure. It has the advantages of small forming force, large deformation, short process, high efficiency, low cost, easy industrial production, and overall assembly.

[0059] It should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not limiting. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present invention may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the purpose and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all of these should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A forming device for an integral aircraft engine lip, characterized in that: It includes a forming die, a transition ring and an extrusion component, wherein the forming die includes a male die, a female die and a core die, and the extrusion component includes an extrusion cylinder and an extrusion rod; The punch is an annular boss structure, and the convex mold surface is completely consistent with the inner surface of the circular ring inner cavity surface of the integral aircraft engine lip; The concave mold is an annular sleeve structure, and the mold cavity surface formed by the concave mold surface and the convex mold surface in the mold closing state is completely consistent with the outer surface surface of the integral aircraft engine lip; The core mold is a rod-shaped structure with a conical top surface, and the cavity surface formed by the core mold surface and the convex mold surface in the mold closing state is completely consistent with the center hole surface of the lip of the integral aircraft engine; wherein the transition ring is installed between the forming die and the extrusion component so as to cut off the metal excess there; The extrusion rod is nested in the extrusion cylinder and is used to push and extrude the metal blank toward the forming die. Among them, in the forming mold, the core mold is located in the annular sleeve structure of the female mold, and a flow channel is formed between the two; the female mold is located outside the annular boss structure of the male mold, and a mold cavity is formed between the two.

2. The device for forming an integral aircraft engine lip according to claim 1, characterized in that: The forming die is tightly connected to the extrusion cylinder through the transition ring.

3. The forming device for an integral aircraft engine lip according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conicity of the core mold is determined according to the properties of the metal blank; Wherein, the metal blank is aluminum alloy, titanium alloy or composite material.

4. A method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip, characterized in that: One-step forming is performed using the forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the specific steps are as follows: Step 1: Assemble the male mold, the female mold and the core mold into the forming mold, and tightly connect them to the extrusion cylinder through the transition ring; Step 2: placing the metal billet into the extrusion cylinder; Step 3: Pushing the extrusion rod, the metal blank in the extrusion cylinder is diverted through the core mold, enters the flow channel formed by the female mold and the core mold, and then flows into the mold cavity formed by the male mold and the female mold, thereby completing the filling and forming of the metal to obtain a preformed component; Step 4: Remove the transition ring, cut off the metal residue at the corresponding position of the transition ring, and separate the extrusion cylinder containing the metal residue from the forming die containing the preformed component; Step 5: removing the forming mold containing the preformed component, disassembling the forming mold, and taking out the formed preformed component; Step 6: Processing the preformed component to obtain an integral aircraft engine lip.

5. The method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cross-sectional shape of the preformed component is "O"-shaped, oblong, elliptical, "V"-shaped or "W"-shaped.

6. The method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip according to claim 4, characterized in that: At least one of the metal billet, the extrusion barrel, the extrusion rod, or the forming die is heated.

7. The method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip according to claim 4, characterized in that: Ultrasonic vibration is applied to the forming die.

8. The method for forming an integral aircraft engine lip according to claim 4, characterized in that: The integral aircraft engine lip is post-processed.

9. A high-precision, high-performance integral aircraft engine lip, characterized in that: The integral aircraft engine lip is manufactured by the forming method of the integral aircraft engine lip according to any one of claims 4 to 8.

Images