Airfoil Box Structure Using Nested C-Profile Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complex connection process between the skin and spars in airplane airfoil components with box structures, such as wings and flaps, is time-consuming and difficult due to the need for precise positioning and the use of clamps or rivets, especially in components with small inner spaces.
Innovation Solution
A component comprising multiple C-profiles that can be inserted and fixed into each other using fasteners, eliminating the need for separate skin and frame manufacturing and allowing assembly without entering the closed structure, with designed leg shapes forming the skin and spars for simplified manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If bonding is used to connect skin and spars, then connection strength is improved, but manufacturing time increases due to requiring large quantities of clamps for positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The structure is divided into modular C-profiles that can be assembled separately and then connected. Each C-profile is a self-contained unit with integrated skin and spar elements, eliminating the need for separate skin-spar bonding operations and reducing the number of clamps required during assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
C-profiles are designed to be inserted into one another in a nested configuration, with the open end of one C-profile receiving the closed end of another. This nesting arrangement allows for straightforward alignment and connection without requiring complex positioning clamps or bonding operations.
2Loss of time
If rivets are used to connect skin and spars, then manufacturing time is reduced, but positioning difficulty increases due to curved skin shape and small inner space
Solution Approach 1:
The skin and spar functions are merged into a single integrated C-profile structure. The C-profile's geometry combines the skin's curved surface with the spar's structural function, eliminating the need for separate positioning operations between skin and spars and simplifying the connection process.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of connecting skin to spars from the outside, the design allows assembly from the inside out by inserting C-profiles into each other. The open end of one C-profile receives the closed end of another, enabling workers to assemble the structure without needing to access the small inner space for positioning operations.
3Strength
If traditional frame and skin structure is used, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases due to separate manufacturing and assembly of frame and skin
Solution Approach 1:
The frame and skin are merged into a single integrated C-profile component. Each C-profile simultaneously provides the structural function of a spar and the surface function of skin, eliminating the need for separate frame and skin manufacturing and assembly operations while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The C-profile is designed as a multi-functional component that performs multiple roles: it provides structural support like a spar, forms the aerodynamic surface like skin, and enables connection through its open-closed end configuration. This universality reduces the total number of components and simplifies the overall structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a panel, especially for a component having a box structure in an airplane airfoil, comprising a surface shaped body and grid-like reinforcement bars protruding from the body on one side of the body, and the body and the grid-like reinforcement bars are integral molded. Since the body and the grid-like reinforcement bars of the panel are integral molded, no additional connecting process is required, so that the disconnection phenomenon as happened between the skin and the stiffener or stringer of the prior art would not occur, and the assembly complexity can be decreased.