Heated floor panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional heated aircraft floor panels made with carbon-based PTC materials face issues with ink wastage in the screen printing process and lack of resistance to impacts and knife cuts, necessitating improved manufacturing methods and materials for enhanced robustness and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A heater panel design featuring a core with a PTC heater layer sandwiched between dielectric layers, bonded directly to structural facings made of carbon fiber impregnated with resin, and an impact layer for added durability, with a method that eliminates intermediate layers for direct bonding using adhesives, incorporating materials like honeycomb structures and monolithic metals for improved robustness and thermal efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If screen printing is used to apply PTC-based ink, then the heating element pattern can be created, but excess ink is wasted and requires disposal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the state of the PTC material from an ink-based liquid application to a pre-formed sheet or mat material. This parameter change from liquid to solid/semi-solid form eliminates the screen printing process and associated ink wastage, while still allowing for pattern creation through cutting or shaping the sheet material.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional surface layer materials are used in composite panels, then the panel structure is maintained, but the panel cannot withstand repeated or high load impacts and knife cuts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials by integrating the PTC heating element within a multi-layer construction that includes impact-resistant layers and knife-cut resistant layers. This composite structure combines materials with different properties to achieve both structural stability and enhanced resistance to impacts and knife cuts, which traditional single-material surface layers cannot provide.
3Ease of manufacture
If intermediate layers are used in bonding the heater/dielectric layer, then the bonding process is simplified, but the panel weight increases and thermal efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes intermediate bonding layers from the construction, achieving direct bonding between the heater/dielectric layer and the structural facing. This extraction of unnecessary intermediate layers reduces panel weight and improves thermal efficiency by eliminating thermal barriers, while the bonding process remains manageable through direct adhesive application or other bonding methods.
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 results in lighter, longer-lasting, and more thermally efficient heater panels with enhanced robustness against impacts and knife cuts, addressing the limitations of traditional panels.
Implementation Method 1
Positive thermal coefficient (PTC) materials increase in electrical resistance as their temperature rises. PTC materials are useful in heating panels such as used in heating air craft floors, due to their intrinsic limits on temperature.
Implementation Method 2
The heater/dielectric layer can be bonded directly to the core without any intervening layers aside from an adhesive or bonding agent, and the heater/dielectric layer can be bonded directly to the structural facing without any intervening layers aside from an adhesive or bonding agent
Data Source
AI summary
A heater panel includes a core and a heater/dielectric layer including a positive thermal coefficient (PTC) heater layer between a pair of dielectric layers. A structural facing is included, wherein the heater/dielectric layer is bonded directly between the core and the structural facing. A second structural facing can be bonded to the core opposite the heater/dielectric layer. An impact layer can be bonded to the structural facing, e.g., the first structural facing described above, opposite the heater/dielectric layer.