Rotorcraft Gearbox Mounting Arrangement with Composite Support Plates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rotorcraft gear box mounting arrangements are inefficient in terms of space and weight, often resulting in heavy, costly designs with limited room for anti-vibration integration and optimized material use due to structural constraints and minimum wall thickness requirements.
Innovation Solution
A mounting arrangement featuring two rigid support plates attached to the gear box, allowing for efficient transfer of loads via struts to the fuselage, utilizing composite materials like fiber-reinforced polymers and incorporating anti-vibration means to reduce weight and enhance material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional gear box mounting arrangements use traditional metal structures with minimum wall thickness requirements, then structural strength is maintained, but weight increases and space efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials (specifically carbon fiber reinforced plastic - CFRP) to replace traditional metal structures in the mounting arrangement. The support structure is manufactured as a single-piece composite component that maintains structural strength while significantly reducing weight and eliminating minimum wall thickness constraints, thereby resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and strength maintenance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional designs use traditional metal support structures, then structural integrity is ensured, but anti-vibration integration space is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mounting arrangement into distinct functional zones within the support structure: a first region for mechanical load bearing and a second region specifically dedicated to accommodating anti-vibration means. This segmentation allows the structure to provide both structural support and vibration isolation functionality, resolving the contradiction between structural integrity and anti-vibration integration space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension to the mounting arrangement by creating a support structure that extends upward from the gear box, providing both load-bearing capability and dedicated space for anti-vibration components. This dimensional approach allows simultaneous achievement of structural integrity and vibration isolation integration.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional mounting arrangements use traditional materials and designs, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but material utilization efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into a single support structure component: load bearing, vibration isolation accommodation, and gear box mounting. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate metal support structures and reduces overall material quantity while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through single-piece composite fabrication, thereby resolving the contradiction between manufacturing ease and material utilization efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is related to a mounting arrangement 7 for mounting at least a gear box 6 of a rotorcraft to a fuselage 2 of a rotorcraft, said mounting arrangement 7 comprising a gear box 6 of a rotorcraft and at least two support plates 8 that are rigidly attached to at least approximately opposing sides of said gear box 6, each one of said at least two support plates 8 comprising at least two attachment means 8c that are adapted to allow attachment of said at least two support plates 8 to a fuselage 2 of a rotorcraft by means of associated struts 1 1 a in order to enable transfer of induced loads occurring in operation, which are directed into a predetermined load direction, via said associated struts 11a.