Blended Wing Aircraft Fuselage Spar Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cargo and passenger aircraft configurations, such as high-wing and low-wing designs, do not utilize mid-wing configurations effectively due to structural inefficiencies, which limit performance and increase weight, while mid-wing aircraft are typically reserved for high-performance aircraft.
Innovation Solution
A blended wing aircraft configuration where the wing spar is spliced into the aircraft super frame, eliminating the need for a conventional structural wing box and allowing for thicker wings that reduce load on the wing spar, enabling weight savings and improved structural rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a conventional structural wing box is used to support the fuselage and bear wing loads, then the wing structure is sufficiently strong, but the aircraft weight increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the wing structure with the fuselage by splicing the wing spar directly into the fuselage super frame. The wing spar becomes an integrated component of the fuselage structure, eliminating the need for a separate heavy structural wing box. This integration allows the wing to be supported by the fuselage structure itself, reducing overall aircraft weight while maintaining structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuselage super frame is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides structural support for the fuselage and simultaneously serves as the mounting structure for the wing spar. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated separate structures, reducing weight while maintaining the required strength for both fuselage support and wing load bearing.
2Productivity
If mid-wing configuration is used with thin wings for performance advantages, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but the wing loads require substantially thicker spar caps and chords increasing weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the wing spar with the fuselage super frame through direct splicing. This integration allows the wing to benefit from the fuselage structure's strength, enabling thinner wing spars that reduce weight while maintaining adequate strength to handle wing loads. The fuselage structure compensates for the reduced wing spar thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The wing spar is designed with varying thickness along its length, being thicker at the root where it splices into the fuselage super frame and tapering toward the tip. This local variation in thickness optimizes the strength-to-weight ratio, providing sufficient strength where needed while minimizing weight elsewhere.
3Productivity
If thin wings are used for performance reasons, then aerodynamic efficiency is improved, but the aircraft skin must be substantially thicker to carry the loads, increasing weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the wing spar with the fuselage super frame, creating a unified structural system. This integration allows loads to be distributed more efficiently through the combined structure, reducing the requirement for thicker aircraft skin while maintaining the ability to carry the loads generated by thin wings.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods provide for a blended wing passenger or cargo aircraft. Aspects of the disclosure provide an aircraft having wings with spars having a thickness at the wing root corresponding to a height of the payload space within the fuselage to which the wings are attached. The wing spars within the wings on each side of the aircraft may each be spliced into an aircraft frame that is part of the fuselage. The wing thickness provides mounting locations for aircraft engines and other components within the wing and passing through the wing spars. With this mid-wing configuration, the fuselage provides support for the various loads experienced by the wings without the use of a conventional structural wing box.