Aircraft Folding Wing Tip Stop Pads Wear Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft with longer wingspans face challenges in airport infrastructure due to limited taxiway and gate spacing, necessitating the use of folding wing tips, which can cause wear and damage to the wing tips and fixed wing portions during operation.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of stop pads on both the wing tip and fixed wing portion, positioned to engage and absorb forces, preventing direct contact between ledges and reducing wear, with a sacrificial wear plate design for easy replacement and a frangible filler plate to manage impact loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If folding wing tips are used to reduce wingspan for airport infrastructure compatibility, then adaptability to airport constraints is improved, but wear and damage to wing tip components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces stop pads as intermediary elements between the wing tip and fixed wing portion. These stop pads engage with ledges to limit the range of motion of the folding wing tip, preventing excessive movement that would cause damage to structural components. The intermediary stop pads absorb the wear through their sacrificial wear plates, protecting the main wing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs sacrificial wear plates on the stop pads that are designed to wear down and be replaced rather than protecting expensive structural components. These sacrificial elements are intentionally made replaceable and less critical, allowing maintenance personnel to replace them easily when worn, thereby protecting the more valuable wing structure from damage.
2Reliability
If stop pads with sacrificial wear plates are installed to reduce wear on structural components, then reliability of wing structure is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the stop pad assembly into distinct modular components: the stop pad body, the sacrificial wear plate, and the frangible filler plate. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently and enables easy replacement of only the worn sacrificial wear plate without replacing the entire stop pad assembly, thus managing complexity through modularity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the wear-prone functional element (the contact surface) from the structural component by placing it on a separate sacrificial wear plate. This separation allows the wear to occur on the removable plate rather than the permanent structural stop pad, simplifying maintenance by allowing the wear plate to be replaced independently while the structural component remains intact.
3Strength
If frangible filler plates are used to manage impact loads, then strength and impact resistance are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in material properties by employing a frangible filler plate with specific mechanical characteristics designed to fail at controlled stress levels. This frangible material is configured to break or deform under excessive impact loads, preventing transmission of damaging forces to the structural components. The parameter change occurs in the material selection and its mechanical properties rather than in the manufacturing process complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
Stop pads for aircraft folding wing tips are described herein. An example aircraft wing (104) includes a fixed wing portion (114) and a wing tip (116) moveably coupled to the fixed wing portion (114) about a hinge axis (200). The wing tip (116) is moveable between an extended position and a folded position. The aircraft wing (104) also includes a first stop pad (412) coupled to the fixed wing portion (114), the first stop pad (412) having a first contact surface (420), and a second stop pad (414) coupled to the wing tip (116), the second stop pad (414) having a second contact surface (422). The first and second contact surfaces (420, 422) are to engage each other when the wing tip (116) is in the extended position. A contact plane (506) between the first and second contact surfaces (420, 422) is coplanar with the hinge axis (200).