Aircraft Engine Pylon with 45-Degree Inclined Attachment Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional engine mounting pylons for aircraft turbojet engines face assembly difficulties due to limited accessibility, generate aerodynamic disturbances, and require complex shapes and additional material to compensate for mechanical weaknesses, leading to increased cost and mass.
Innovation Solution
The engine mounting pylon features a rigid box structure with 45° inclined attachment interfaces and bolts, allowing external fixation of lateral fittings without indentations or constrictions, reducing bulk and eliminating the need for shear pins, thus simplifying design and reducing mass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional rear attachment is secured to the lower spar inside the box, then force transmission is ensured, but assembly accessibility is limited and assembly difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral fittings are extracted from the interior of the box and repositioned to the exterior, specifically attached to the side panels outside the box. This extraction allows assembly tools and personnel to access the fittings from the outside, eliminating the previous accessibility problem while maintaining the force transmission function through the fitting structure that connects to both the side panel and the lower spar.
Solution Approach 2:
The side panels serve as intermediary elements that facilitate the mounting of lateral fittings. By attaching the fittings to the side panels externally, the design uses the side panels as mediators between the external assembly environment and the internal structural requirements, enabling easy assembly while preserving the load path through the spar system.
2Ease of operation
If lateral fittings are attached between lower spar and side panels, then assembly accessibility improves, but lateral bulk increases and aerodynamic disturbances worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral fittings are designed with a localized attachment configuration that minimizes their projection into the airflow. The fittings are attached close to the box perimeter, and their geometry is optimized to create minimal aerodynamic interference with the secondary flow, thereby reducing harmful aerodynamic effects while maintaining assembly accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment interface is configured in a specific spatial arrangement where the fitting connects the side panel to the lower spar in a manner that reduces lateral projection. By optimizing the three-dimensional configuration of the fitting and its attachment points, the design minimizes the lateral bulk that would otherwise interfere with aerodynamic flow.
3Ease of manufacture
If indentations and constrictions are added to side panels and spar, then fitting mounting is enabled, but manufacturing complexity increases and mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting function is segmented into separate attachment interfaces: one on the side panel and one on the lower spar. This segmentation allows each component to have a simple, standard geometry without requiring complex integrated features. The lateral fitting acts as a separate element that connects these simple interfaces, eliminating the need for indentations or constrictions in the main structural components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of modifying the side panels and spar to accommodate the fittings (by creating indentations or constrictions), the design inverts the approach by providing external attachment interfaces on the side panels and corresponding mounting points on the spar that allow the fittings to be attached without altering the primary structural geometry. This inversion eliminates the need for complex shape accidents.
4Force
If shear pin system is added under lower spar, then transverse force absorption is ensured, but device complexity and mass increase
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral fittings are designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: they provide attachment between the side panel and lower spar, enable force transmission in both vertical and transverse directions, and eliminate the need for separate shear pins. This multi-functionality consolidates the force absorption capability into the existing fitting structure, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining transverse force absorption through the fitting's geometric configuration and attachment points.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1a~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an aircraft engine mounting mast, comprising a box formed by the assembly of a first longeron (18), a second longeron (20), and two side panels (22). The mast also includes a rear engine mount (8) equipped with a rear mounting body (54) and further provided with two lateral brackets (26) associated with the two side panels (22) to which they are attached and from which they project laterally outside the box. Each bracket (26) forms with the mounting body (54) a flat attachment interface (36) through which bolts (56) pass. According to the invention, each interface (36), in cross-section along any transverse plane of the mast through which it passes, takes the form of a straight line segment inclined at 45° to the vertical direction (2).