Hovercraft Rotor Blade Without Spars
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current rotor blade designs for hover-capable aircraft are costly and complex, requiring multiple components and spars to achieve necessary rigidity, while also being expensive to manufacture and maintain.
Innovation Solution
A rotor blade design without spars, utilizing a thin-walled shell structure with composite materials and a nose section made of laminated fibre-reinforced resin, which absorbs centrifugal, bending, and torque loads, enhancing axial and flexural rigidity without the need for additional spars or strengtheners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional rotor blade designs with spars are used, then structural strength and rigidity are achieved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the spar component from the traditional rotor blade structure. The blade is designed without spars, using only a skin and filler configuration, thereby eliminating the complex internal spar structure while maintaining structural integrity through alternative design approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the functions of the skin and filler into a unified structural system that replaces the traditional spar-based load-bearing structure. The skin and filler work together as an integrated component to provide both aerodynamic shape and structural strength, eliminating the need for separate spar elements.
2Stability of the object's composition
If traditional rotor blade designs with multiple components are used, then structural rigidity is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the spar component from the blade structure, reducing the number of parts that need to be manufactured, assembled, and maintained. This simplification directly reduces manufacturing cost while the remaining skin and filler configuration is designed to maintain necessary rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes composite material construction for the skin and filler, which provides high strength-to-weight ratio and structural rigidity. The composite materials enable the blade to achieve required mechanical properties without the additional cost and complexity of traditional spar-based structures.
3Stability of the object's composition
If spars are included in rotor blade design, then axial and flexural rigidity are enhanced, but the number of components and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the spar component entirely from the blade structure. The skin and filler are configured to provide the necessary axial and flexural rigidity through their geometric arrangement and material properties, eliminating the need for additional spar components.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a thin-walled shell structure for the skin that provides structural rigidity through its geometry and material composition. The shell configuration, combined with the filler, creates a stiff structure that resists axial and flexural loads without requiring internal spar reinforcement.
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 design achieves high axial and flexural rigidity in the drag plane, reduces manufacturing costs, and simplifies production by eliminating the need for spars, while maintaining high torsional and flapping plane rigidity, and is adaptable for various aircraft types.
Implementation Method 1
a nose section (70) made of laminated fibre-reinforced resin
Implementation Method 2
absorbs centrifugal, bending, and torque loads
Data Source
AI summary
A rotor is described that comprises: a hub; a plurality of blades; each blade extends along an axis and comprises: a leading edge and a trailing edge; a top surface and a bottom surface, a chord joining points of the leading edge and the trailing edge; and a closed shell made of composite material and adapted to withstand the torque directed along a first axis of the blade; the shell comprises a first and a second element separate from each other, delimiting the respective shell on mutually opposite sides; a first connection element arranged on the side of the associated leading edge and interposed between the first ends of the respective first and second elements; and a third element connected to the associated first and second elements and arranged on the side of the leading edge; the first connection element is connected to respective first faces, and the third element is connected to respective second faces of the first and second elements; the blade comprises a fourth element interposed between the fourth element and the first connection element.