Bonded Composite Panel Recess Machining for Lightweight Wing Stiffening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft structures, such as wing assemblies, are costly and heavy due to the use of reinforcing stringers, ribs, and fasteners, which increase the overall weight and cost of the wing assembly process.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the machining of composite material substrates to form recesses within the substrate thickness, reducing material weight while maintaining strength and stiffness, and eliminating the need for discrete reinforcing components like stringers and ribs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If reinforcing stringers, ribs, and fasteners are used to strengthen aircraft wing structures, then the strength and rigidity of the wing assembly are improved, but the overall weight and cost of the wing assembly increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the functions of discrete reinforcing components (stringers, ribs, fasteners) into an integrated bonded panel structure. The recesses created in the composite substrate allow bonding of reinforcement elements directly to the substrate, merging multiple structural functions into a single integrated component that reduces overall weight while maintaining strength and rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes composite material substrates with recesses that are bonded to reinforcement structures. This composite construction allows for optimized strength-to-weight ratio by strategically placing reinforcement materials within the recesses of the composite substrate, achieving required structural integrity without the weight penalty of traditional solid reinforcement components.
2Strength
If discrete reinforcing components and fasteners are used to construct aircraft wing structures, then the desired strength and rigidity are achieved, but the manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple discrete components (substrate, recesses, bonding layers, reinforcements) into an integrated bonded panel structure. This consolidation reduces the number of separate parts and assembly steps compared to traditional constructions using separate stringers, ribs, and fasteners, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the reinforcement structure into discrete recesses within the composite substrate, allowing for optimized placement and configuration of reinforcement elements. This segmentation enables precise positioning of structural reinforcements where needed most, achieving desired strength and rigidity with a simplified overall architecture compared to traditional full-coverage reinforcement approaches.
3Reliability
If traditional reinforcing structures with multiple components are used in aircraft wings, then structural integrity is maintained, but the overall cost of the wing assembly process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple manufacturing operations into an integrated bonded panel process, where the substrate with recesses is bonded to reinforcement structures in a consolidated manufacturing step. This reduces the number of separate manufacturing processes, labor requirements, and assembly operations compared to traditional methods, thereby reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates recesses into the composite substrate during the substrate manufacturing process itself, before the final assembly with reinforcement structures. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent machining or modification steps, streamlining the manufacturing process and reducing overall production cost while ensuring structural integrity is built-in from the outset.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces the weight and cost of aircraft components by creating a composite laminate with recesses that enhance stiffness-to-weight ratio, allowing for lighter structures with reduced manufacturing complexity and labor costs.
Implementation Method 1
at least partially curing the composite material substrate, to form an amount of at least partially cured composite material substrate
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for machining a composite material substrate are discloses comprising integrating a predetermined pattern area having a disbond material for the purpose of creating a disbond region into the composite material substrate at a predetermined thickness, detecting the disbond region and forming a plurality of recesses in the composite material substrate by removing a machined plug from the composite material substrate to form recesses positioned at locations corresponding to the predetermined pattern area, and composite components comprising the recesses machined according to such methods.