초록 ▼

A unitary frame having a central, annular-shaped fuselage section and a pair of outwardly opposed wing spars is fabricated from fiber-reinforced, resin matrix composites, and constitutes one of a number of similar such frames that are assembled together to form a framework of an aircraft body. Each

A unitary frame having a central, annular-shaped fuselage section and a pair of outwardly opposed wing spars is fabricated from fiber-reinforced, resin matrix composites, and constitutes one of a number of similar such frames that are assembled together to form a framework of an aircraft body. Each wing spar has the general configuration of an I-beam incorporating a sine wave shear web reinforced along the upper and lower edges by flanges and lengthwise extending, tension/compression chords formed by bundles of lengthwise oriented fibers. The fuselage section has a circumferentially oriented sine wave shear web that is otherwise similar to the web of the wing spars, and has inner and outer circumferentially extending flanges that are similar to the upper and lower flanges along the wing spars. The root of each wing spar is joined to the respective side of the fuselage section by continuing the tension/compression chords into the fuselage section and by inserting a transition structure, in the form of a lightweight honeycomb core sandwiched between a pair of facing panels, at the juncture between the root of the wing spar and the fuselage section. The transition structure efficiently reacts loads developed along the tension/compression chords due to bending of the wing spar, and geometrically blends vertically oriented corrugations in the wing spar web with radially oriented corrugations in the web of the fuselage section.

대표청구항 ▼

In a blended wing-fuselage frame for an aircraft body in which a pair of opposed wing spars incorporating sine wave shear webs of fiber reinforced resin matrix composites are joined to a fuselage section incorporating a circumferentially oriented sine wave shear web, and in which chords of bundled,

In a blended wing-fuselage frame for an aircraft body in which a pair of opposed wing spars incorporating sine wave shear webs of fiber reinforced resin matrix composites are joined to a fuselage section incorporating a circumferentially oriented sine wave shear web, and in which chords of bundled, unidirectional fibers are provided along the opposed edges of the shear webs of each of said wing spars and along the circumferentially inner and outer edges of the shear web in said fuselage section for bearing tension and compression loads oriented along the edges of the respective webs, wherein the improvement in the manner of joining each of said wing spars to the fuselage section comprises: means for extending in a continuous fashion said chords that are provided along the opposed edges of said shear webs of each of said wing spars around regions of curvature occurring where said wing spars join said fuselage section and thence into said fuselage section where said chords extend circumferentially around the edges of said fuselage shear web; and transition structure means disposed in the areas at which said wing spars join said fuselage section for acting in compression, tension and shear to react forces that radiate radially from said chords in said regions of substantial curvature when said wing spars are subjected to bending loads; and wherein said transition structure means comprises first and second transition webs, one for each of said areas, each of said first and second transition webs having a pair of spaced parallel panels made of fiber reinforced resin matrix composites and a core sandwiched between said panels and bonded to the inwardly opposed surfaces of said panels, said first and second transition webs being disposed in said areas, on opposite sides of said fuselage section and, in edgewise relationship between said chords at said regions of substantial curvature so that a tension load on one of said chords creates radially oriented tension forces that are reacted by tension in an adjacent one of said transition webs, and so that a compression load on one of said chords causes radially oriented compression forces that are reacted by compression in an adjacent one of said transition webs.