Fluid-Pressurized FRP Stabilizing Device for Welding Joints
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
During the welding of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) components, especially in aircraft parts with hollow profiles, undesirable deformations occur due to heat-induced pressure, leading to loss of shape and reinforcing effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A stabilising device with an elongated base body and a flexible pressing element is inserted into the FRP component's recess, filled with a fluid to exert targeted pressure on the connecting point, maintaining the shape and counteracting deformation during welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a flexible bladder is used to stabilize FRP components during welding, then the component is strengthened and supported, but the component can be deformed in undesirable ways due to uniform pressure in all directions
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizing device is divided into two functional parts: a rigid base body that maintains overall shape and a flexible pressing element that applies targeted pressure. This segmentation allows the device to provide both structural support and localized stabilization without causing unwanted deformations.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing element is designed with different flexibility characteristics than the base body, creating local quality differences. The pressing element contacts only the specific area requiring stabilization during welding, while the rigid base body provides overall structural support, ensuring pressure is applied only where needed rather than uniformly across the entire component.
2Reliability
If a flexible bladder is inserted into narrow cavities, then it can provide stabilization, but it is difficult to place in a targeted manner and can tear or melt in hot spots
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates the stabilization function (pressing element) from the structural support function (base body). The pressing element can be designed to fit specific cavity dimensions while the base body provides overall rigidity, making insertion easier and more reliable than a completely flexible bladder.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing element can be designed as a disposable or replaceable component that can be easily inserted and removed. If it does tear or deform during use, it can be replaced without affecting the base body or the FRP component, ensuring continued reliability while simplifying the insertion process.
3Stability of the object's composition
If uniform pressure is applied by a bladder during welding, then the component is supported, but heat from welding softens and deforms the component at points without counterpressure
Solution Approach 1:
The pressing element is designed to apply pressure locally at the connecting point rather than uniformly across the entire component. This localized pressure application provides counterpressure exactly where the welding heat causes material softening, preventing deformation at critical areas while maintaining overall component stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing element applies counterpressure in advance and during the welding process at the connecting point, preventing the material from deforming under heat-induced softening. This preliminary anti-action counteracts the harmful effects of welding heat before they can cause permanent deformation.
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
The method effectively stabilizes the FRP components by preventing shape changes during welding, ensuring precise joining and maintaining the structural integrity of hollow profiles.
Implementation Method 1
filling the cavity with a fluid such that the pressing element is pressed against a delimiting surface of the first FRP component
Implementation Method 2
a pressure force, which is directed towards the outside, is exerted onto the connecting point by means of the pressing element
Implementation Method 3
connecting the first FRP component to the second FRP component by joining at a connecting point
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for joining fiber-plastic composite (FPC) components, in particular aircraft FPC components, comprising the following steps: i) providing a first and a second FPC component, the first FPC component having a recess; ii) introducing a stabilizing device into the recess of the first FPC component, the stabilizing device having a basic body with a cavity, an opening and a pressing element, which pressing element has at least partially a higher flexibility than the base body; iii) filling the cavity with a fluid, so that the pressing element is pressed against a delimiting surface of the first FPC component, which delimits the recess; iv) connecting the first FPC component to the second FPC component by joining at a connecting point, wherein a pressure force, is exerted onto the connecting point by means of the pressing element for stabilizing the form of the recess.