Aircraft Engine Attachment Pylon Offset Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing aircraft engine attachment pylons cause significant aerodynamic perturbations and performance losses due to their configuration, which requires the caisson to be close to the engine casing, leading to thermal and production challenges, and increased mass.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an intermediate piece between the crossbar support and the caisson, with shear slugs aligning with the connecting rods, allows the rear engine attachment to be offset, reducing the caisson's proximity to the engine and using less heat-sensitive materials, while maintaining thrust force collection efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the caisson is brought close to the engine casing to ensure proper placement of the rear engine attachment, then the attachment positioning is improved, but aerodynamic perturbations increase causing drag and performance losses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a rear engine attachment beam as an intermediary element between the caisson and the engine casing. This beam allows the attachment to be positioned optimally for engine mounting while maintaining a distance between the caisson and engine casing, thereby reducing aerodynamic perturbations in the secondary flow zone.
2Ease of operation
If the caisson is brought close to the engine casing to ensure proper attachment placement, then the attachment positioning is improved, but the caisson geometry becomes complex requiring modification
Solution Approach 1:
The rear engine attachment beam serves as a mediator that decouples the positioning requirements. The beam can be designed with the necessary geometry to accommodate the engine attachment, while the caisson maintains its original simple structure, thus avoiding complex caisson geometry modifications.
3Ease of operation
If the caisson is brought close to the engine casing to ensure proper attachment placement, then the attachment positioning is improved, but the overall mass of the attachment pylon increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rear engine attachment beam acts as a lightweight intermediary structure that enables proper attachment placement without requiring the heavy caisson to be positioned close to the engine. This separates the mass of the caisson from the positioning requirements, helping to minimize overall pylon mass.
4Ease of operation
If the caisson is brought close to the engine casing to ensure proper attachment placement, then the attachment positioning is improved, but thermal challenges arise due to heat exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The rear engine attachment beam serves as a thermal buffer between the caisson and the engine casing. It allows the attachment to be positioned close to the engine for proper mounting while maintaining a distance that reduces thermal exposure to the caisson, thus mitigating heat-related challenges.
Data Source
AI summary
An engine attachment pylon for an aircraft including an intermediate piece interposed between a crossbar support and a rigid caisson, a first shear slug passing through a first interface fixing plane between the piece and the caisson, and a second shear slug passing through a second interface fixing plane between the piece and the support. Also, in side elevation, the intersection point between an axis of the pin and the plane, as well as the intersection point between an axis of the pin and the plane, are located on the common axis of two lateral thrust force collection connecting rods articulated on the crossbar.