Adjustable Fuselage Repair Brace for Load and Deflection Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional devices for bracing aircraft fuselage repairs are large, static, and limited to specific locations, requiring extensive bracing and often interfering with aircraft systems, making them cumbersome and inefficient for flexible repairs.
Innovation Solution
A brace system with adjustable legs, pivot points, and actuator-controlled attachment assemblies that can be installed at various fuselage locations, incorporating load and strain monitoring to ensure precise load control and deflection management, allowing for flexible and efficient repair without interfering with internal systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional large static cradles are used for bracing, then the fuselage can be supported during repair, but the device complexity and interference with aircraft systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracing device is divided into multiple independent legs (first leg, second leg, third leg) that can be separately positioned and adjusted. Each leg can be independently coupled to the fuselage at different locations, allowing the system to support the fuselage without requiring a single complex static cradle structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracing device transitions from static cradles to dynamic, adjustable legs with actuators that can move and position themselves. The legs can be adjusted to different positions and angles using actuator assemblies, providing adaptability while maintaining support stability.
2Reliability
If conventional cradles are used, then the fuselage can be braced, but the ease of operation and installation flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracing device with multiple adjustable legs can be installed at various locations along the fuselage and adapted to different repair scenarios. The same basic device configuration can serve multiple positions and functions, unlike conventional cradles that are limited to specific station locations where bulkheads exist.
Solution Approach 2:
The legs incorporate actuator assemblies that enable dynamic adjustment of leg positions and angles. This allows the device to be easily installed and reconfigured at different locations along the fuselage, providing operational flexibility while maintaining reliable bracing capability.
3Reliability
If extensive bracing is used to compensate for bulkhead damage, then the fuselage can be supported, but the device complexity and interference with aircraft systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracing device applies support forces at specific local points along the fuselage where legs are coupled to the skin. This localized bracing approach provides the necessary support without requiring extensive beam structures that would pass through windows and interfere with aircraft systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The support function is distributed across multiple independent legs rather than requiring a single extensive bracing structure. This segmentation allows the device to provide adequate support while minimizing the physical footprint and interference with aircraft systems.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a brace having a first leg and a second leg offset from the first leg. The brace also has a pivot assembly having a bar pivotably coupled with the first leg to define a first pivot point and pivotably coupled with the second leg to define a second pivot point. The brace further includes first and second attachment assemblies coupled with the first leg and the second leg, respectively, and each arranged to couple to a portion of a structure. In addition, the brace includes an actuator assembly coupling the first leg with the second leg and having an actuator arranged to pivot, or maintain a position of, the first leg relative to the first pivot point and to pivot, or maintain the position of, the second leg relative to the second pivot point so as to control a load on, and deflection of, the structure.