Composite Skin for Aircraft Mid-Box Lifting Surfaces
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current aircraft lifting surface architectures require multiple parts and a central joint, which increases manufacturing complexity, weight, and cost, while limiting design optimization and maintainability.
Innovation Solution
A composite skin designed as a single part from tip to tip with a swept angle and dihedral for aircraft mid-box lifting surfaces, eliminating the central joint and allowing for detachable configurations, using a common ply structure and shared plies between sides, optimized with a global orientation reference for load paths and contoured automated tape lay-up technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a central joint is used to connect left and right torsion boxes, then the structure can be assembled from separate parts, but the device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the left and right torsion box skins into a single integrated composite skin that spans from tip to tip. This eliminates the central joint and separates the skin as an independent manufacturable unit, resolving the contradiction by combining the benefits of integration (reduced complexity) with maintainability (detachable configuration).
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated skin is designed with a central transition area that allows for detachable configuration. This segmentation enables the skin to be separated into left and right sides for manufacturing and assembly purposes, while maintaining the overall integrated structure during operation.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate skins are used for left and right torsion boxes, then manufacturing and assembly are simplified, but material usage and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate skins into a single integrated composite skin with continuous plies from tip to tip. This merging eliminates redundant materials at the central joint interface and reduces overall structure weight while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the detachable central transition area design.
3Strength
If a massive central joint is used to fix both sides to the fuselage, then structural integrity is ensured, but assembly complexity and manufacturing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the central joint functionality into the skin structure itself through the central transition area. This integration maintains structural integrity by providing continuous load paths while eliminating the separate massive joint component, thereby simplifying assembly and improving productivity.
4Manufacturing precision
If separate orientation rosettes are used for left and right sides, then each side can be optimized independently, but manufacturing complexity and lead times increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a universal common ply structure and single orientation rosette for the entire integrated skin spanning both left and right sides. This universal approach maintains manufacturing precision by providing consistent orientation control while significantly improving productivity by eliminating the need for separate orientation systems for each side.
Data Source
AI summary
A composite skin (11) with swept angle and dihedral for an aircraft mid-box lifting surface having a left side (5), a right side (7) and a central transition area (9) where both sides meet, that is designed and manufactured as a single part from left tip to right tip following a common ply structure for the whole part defined in relation to a single orientation rosette (25). The invention also refers to a composite aircraft mid-box lifting surface including an upper and lower panel with said composite skin (11).