Automated Fiber Preform Architecture for Composite Fan Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing composite fan containment cases in gas turbine engines face challenges in providing high impact resistance and damage tolerance while maintaining a lightweight structure, as conventional fabrication processes are costly and weight-intensive, and conventional fiber placement methods cannot utilize textile fabric effectively.
Innovation Solution
A textile fiber preform architecture is developed using a method of interweaving fiber bands with varying orientation angles and spacings to create an interlocking pattern, allowing for automated fiber placement and forming a multi-layered assembly with improved in-plane and out-of-plane orientation, which enhances the strength and impact resistance of composite articles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If textile fabric is used for composite fan containment case, then damage tolerance and impact resistance are improved, but manufacturing cost increases due to manual processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical textile fabric placement with an automated fiber placement (AFP) system that uses a robotic head to deposit fiber bands according to a predetermined pattern. This substitution of manual mechanical processes with automated computer-controlled systems resolves the contradiction by maintaining the textile fabric architecture's damage tolerance while dramatically reducing manufacturing cost and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters from manual textile fabrication to automated fiber placement parameters, including fiber band width (0.125 to 6 inches), orientation angles (multiple directions), and layering sequences. These parameter changes enable the same textile fabric architecture to be produced automatically, resolving the cost contradiction while preserving the superior damage tolerance properties.
2Extent of automation
If conventional fiber placement process is used, then automated manufacturing is achieved, but textile fabric cannot be utilized and unidirectional laminates are produced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fiber reinforcement into multiple discrete fiber bands that can be independently placed by the automated AFP system. Each fiber band can be oriented at different angles and positioned at specific locations, allowing the automated system to reconstruct complex textile fabric architectures (such as woven or braided patterns) through systematic placement of these segmented fiber elements in multiple layers and orientations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of multi-layered construction with varying orientation angles to the automated fiber placement process. By placing fiber bands in multiple layers (first layer, second layer, third layer, etc.) with different orientations (e.g., 0 degrees, 90 degrees, +/- 45 degrees), the system creates a three-dimensional textile-like architecture that maintains flexibility and adaptability while being fully automated.
3Strength
If metallic material is used for fan containment case, then structural strength is achieved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials consisting of fiber bands (such as carbon fiber, glass fiber, or aramid fiber) embedded in a resin matrix to fabricate the fan containment case. These composite materials provide structural strength comparable to or exceeding metallic materials while significantly reducing the weight of the containment case, thereby resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
4Reliability
If multiple fiber bands with varying orientations are interwoven, then impact resistance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-programming the fiber band placement pattern, orientation angles, and layering sequence into the automated fiber placement system before manufacturing begins. The computer-controlled AFP head follows a predetermined digital model that specifies exactly where each fiber band should be placed, at what angle, and in what order. This preliminary digital planning simplifies the actual manufacturing process, allowing complex multi-oriented fiber architectures to be produced systematically without increasing operational complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A fiber preform architecture and method of making, including a plurality of fiber bands (52). Each band of the plurality of fiber bands is placed at a time, at a predetermined position and orientation, to generate an interwoven and interlocking pattern between the fiber bands. Each of the plurality of fiber bands is formed of a plurality of fiber tows (50), positioned side by side at a predetermined spacing (x) to define one or more gaps between each tow in the fiber band and define a secondary based interleaving within each of the fiber bands. The plurality of fiber bands are interwoven in an in-plane and out-of-plane orientation by interleaving each of the plurality of fiber bands with one or more of the plurality of fiber bands previously laid down and not in a common plane. The plurality of fiber bands include three or more different orientation angles and provide uniformity in coverage.