Automated Gap Sealing Apparatus for Aircraft Wings
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for sealing gaps between aerodynamic surfaces on aircraft wings, particularly those made from composite materials, are prone to human error and fail to ensure a smooth, flush seal, leading to turbulence and reduced aerodynamic efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A sealing apparatus comprising a nozzle, rollers, and a curing device integrated into an endless track that injects sealant into the gap, constrains it to lie flush with the surfaces, and accelerates curing, ensuring the sealant is tack-free before the track is peeled off, thereby maintaining aerodynamic efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual tooling of liquid sealant is used to form a smooth fillet, then the gap can be sealed, but human error causes difficulty in ensuring a smooth fillet that lies precisely flush with the aerodynamic surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tooling with an automated system consisting of a nozzle for sealant injection, rollers for track actuation, and a curing device for UV curing. This automated system eliminates human error and ensures consistent, precise fillet formation that lies flush with the aerodynamic surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The endless track serves multiple functions automatically: it applies pressure to constrain the sealant, provides a surface for the sealant to bond to during curing, and peels off cleanly once curing is complete. The system is self-regulating, with the track automatically adapting to the gap geometry and ensuring consistent seal quality without manual intervention.
2Ease of manufacture
If manual sealant application is used, then the process is simple, but it is difficult to ensure a smooth fillet which lies precisely flush with the aerodynamic surfaces on either side of the gap
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces simple manual application with an automated system that uses a nozzle for precise sealant injection, rollers for track actuation, and a curing device for UV curing. This substitution maintains ease of operation through automation while dramatically improving fillet smoothness and flushness precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls critical parameters including sealant injection rate, track pressure applied to the sealant, curing device energy output, and track movement speed. By precisely controlling these parameters, the system ensures consistent fillet quality that is smooth and flush with the aerodynamic surfaces.
3Device complexity
If conventional manual sealing is used, then equipment complexity is low, but aerodynamic efficiency is reduced due to turbulence from imperfect seals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an automated system with nozzle, rollers, and curing device to create precise, smooth seals that eliminate turbulence. The increased device complexity is justified by the elimination of aerodynamic inefficiencies that would otherwise require more complex aerodynamic designs to compensate for.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls sealant viscosity, injection pressure, track pressure, and UV curing energy to ensure the sealant forms a perfectly smooth fillet. This precise parameter control eliminates surface irregularities that would cause turbulence, thereby improving aerodynamic efficiency.
4Productivity
If the track is peeled off before the sealant is sufficiently cured, then the process is faster, but the track cannot be cleanly removed and the seal quality is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent controls the curing process by adjusting UV energy output and exposure time to achieve optimal cure state. The track is peeled off at the precise moment when the sealant has cured sufficiently to maintain quality but not so much that it becomes difficult to remove the track cleanly. This timing control optimizes both productivity and seal quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors the curing process and adjusts track removal timing based on the cure state of the sealant. This feedback mechanism ensures the track is peeled off at the optimal moment, maintaining both high productivity and excellent seal quality with clean track removal.
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 solution provides a precise and efficient method for sealing gaps between aerodynamic surfaces, enhancing aerodynamic efficiency by ensuring a smooth, flush seal and reducing turbulence, suitable for both turbulent and laminar flow wing designs.
Implementation Method 1
a curing device for directing energy into the gap to accelerate cure of the sealant
Data Source
AI summary
A sealing unit for sealing a gap between a pair of surfaces, the apparatus comprising a nozzle for injecting sealant into the gap; two or more rollers; an endless track which passes round the rollers; and a curing device for directing energy into the gap to initiate cure of the sealant. The sealing unit is moved along the length of the gap. A sealant is injected into the gap from the nozzle and the track is rotated around the rollers as they are moved along the length of the gap. The track is pressed onto the first and second surfaces so the sealant in the gap is constrained by the track to lie substantially flush with the first and second surfaces. Energy is directed into the sealant with the curing device, the curing energy initiating cure of the sealant. The sealing unit is moved along the length of the gap at a rate such that the sealant becomes sufficiently cured when it is in contact with the track so that the track can be peeled away from the sealant as the track rotates round the second roller.