Hybrid Metal-Composite Lobe Joint for Axial Load Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metallic aircraft landing gear components are heavy and costly, and there is a challenge in implementing strong joints for load transfer from composite elements to metallic parts, particularly in handling axial and bending loads.
Innovation Solution
A composite tube joint design featuring a protuberant surface with a maximum diameter location that decreases in diameter in opposite axial directions, mechanically locking the attachment feature onto the composite tube, and comprising a metallic material, with lobes and flanges to mitigate movement and distribute loads effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If metallic materials are used for structural components, then strength and structural integrity are maintained, but weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) to replace traditional metallic structural components. The composite tube maintains structural integrity while significantly reducing weight, achieving the primary goal of weight reduction without sacrificing strength requirements for aircraft landing gear applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment feature is divided into distinct functional portions: a first portion embedded within the composite tube and a second portion extending outward. This segmentation allows optimized design of each portion - the embedded portion for load transfer and the extending portion for connection - resolving the contradiction between weight reduction and strength maintenance.
2Weight of moving object
If composite materials are used to reduce weight, then weight and cost are reduced, but joint strength for load transfer becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment feature is nested within the composite tube structure, with the first portion embedded in the tube wall. This nesting arrangement creates a integrated joint where the attachment feature becomes part of the composite structure, ensuring reliable load transfer from the composite element to external components while maintaining weight reduction benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The protuberant surface features a convex curved geometry with a maximum diameter location that decreases in diameter in opposite axial directions. This curved geometry distributes loads more evenly across the joint interface, preventing stress concentrations that could compromise joint strength in composite materials.
3Reliability
If a protuberant surface with maximum diameter location is used, then movement is mitigated and loading is distributed, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protuberant surface geometry is pre-formed during the composite manufacturing process (such as resin transfer molding or autoclave curing). By incorporating the complex curved geometry into the mold or tooling, the movement-mitigating feature is created without requiring additional post-processing operations, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving reliable movement mitigation.
Data Source
AI summary
A composite tube joint may comprise an end of a composite tube, an attachment feature comprising a first portion disposed within the end and a second portion extending from the end, wherein the first portion comprises a protuberant surface, and the protuberant surface mitigates movement of the attachment feature relative to the composite tube.