초록 ▼

An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead as described herein includes a malleable and deformable dome that is configured to “catch” foreign objects, such as birds. The dome is intentionally designed to deform in response to a foreign object strike that imparts at least a threshold amount

An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead as described herein includes a malleable and deformable dome that is configured to “catch” foreign objects, such as birds. The dome is intentionally designed to deform in response to a foreign object strike that imparts at least a threshold amount of impact energy to the bulkhead. The dome is free of rigid stiffeners and non-deformable reinforcement members that would otherwise hinder the flexible characteristic of the dome. Practical embodiments of the bulkhead utilize fewer parts, are less heavy, and are less expensive than traditional bulkheads that utilize rigid stiffeners.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead comprising a malleable dome that is configured to deform in response to a predetermined threshold amount of impact energy caused by a foreign object strike, thus absorbing and dissipating at least a portion of the impact energy, said airc

What is claimed is: 1. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead comprising a malleable dome that is configured to deform in response to a predetermined threshold amount of impact energy caused by a foreign object strike, thus absorbing and dissipating at least a portion of the impact energy, said aircraft forward pressure bulkhead being void of any rigid non-deformable reinforcement members; wherein said malleable dome comprises a constant radius of curvature extending from a center portion to an outer edge portion, said malleable dome comprising a partial layer on a concave aft surface of said malleable dome, said partial layer being located around an outer perimeter of said malleable dome, said partial layer including the same said radius of curvature; said malleable dome further comprising at least one full layer on a convex side of said malleable dome and a second full layer coupled to said first full layer, said at least one full layer and said second layer having the same said radius of curvature; wherein said partial layer has a variable thickness that decreases towards the center of said malleable dome; and an outer chord coupled to said malleable dome around said outer perimeter, said outer chord providing a rigid attachment mechanism for said aircraft forward pressure bulkhead. 2. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said first full layer corresponding to a front side of said aircraft forward pressure bulkhead, and said partial layer corresponding to an aft side of said aircraft forward pressure bulkhead. 3. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said partial layer having an outer edge located toward said outer perimeter, and an inner edge located toward the center of said malleable dome, where said outer edge corresponds to a maximum thickness of said partial layer and said inner edge corresponds to a minimum thickness of said partial layer. 4. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said partial layer having an outer edge located toward said outer perimeter, and an inner edge located toward the center of said malleable dome, said inner edge being displaced toward a center of said dome an approximately constant distance from said outer edge. 5. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said malleable dome being formed from aluminum. 6. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said malleable dome comprising a convex front surface. 7. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 6, said malleable dome being shaped as a spherical cap. 8. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 6, said malleable dome being configured to withstand pressurized air loading applied to said concave aft surface relative to ambient air pressure exposed to said convex front surface. 9. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said malleable dome comprising: at least one malleable and deformable stiffener coupled to said full layer, said malleable and deformable stiffener being configured to enhance fail safety of said malleable dome. 10. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 1, said malleable dome comprising: a web layer coupled to said full layer, said web layer having at least one malleable and deformable stiffener defined therein, said web layer being configured to enhance fail safety of said malleable dome. 11. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead comprising: a malleable dome having an outer perimeter, said malleable dome comprising a concave aft surface having a constant radius of curvature extending from a center portion to an outer edge portion, said malleable dome comprising a first full layer having the same said radius of curvature, a second full layer coupled to said first full layer having the same said radius of curvature, and a partial layer coupled to said second full layer on said concave aft surface, said partial layer being located within and around said outer perimeter, said partial layer having the same said radius of curvature at an interface with said concave aft surface; and an outer chord coupled to said malleable dome around said outer perimeter, said outer chord providing a rigid attachment mechanism for said aircraft forward pressure bulkhead; said malleable dome being configured to deform in response to a threshold amount of impact energy caused by a foreign object strike, thus absorbing and dissipating at least a portion of the impact energy, and said malleable dome being void of any rigid non-deformable reinforcement members; wherein said partial layer has a variable thickness that decreases towards the center of said malleable dome. 12. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 11, wherein said first full layer is seamless. 13. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 11, wherein said second full layer is seamless. 14. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 11, wherein said partial layer is seamless. 15. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 11, said malleable dome being shaped as a spherical cap. 16. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 11, further comprising at least one malleable and deformable tear strap layer coupled to said malleable dome, said malleable and deformable tear strap layer being configured to enhance fail safety of said malleable dome. 17. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead according to claim 11, further comprising a web layer coupled to said malleable dome, said web layer having at least one malleable and deformable stiffener defined therein, said web layer being configured to enhance fail safety of said malleable dome. 18. An aircraft forward pressure bulkhead comprising a malleable dome, said malleable dome configured to deform in response to a predetermined threshold amount of impact energy caused by a foreign object strike, thus absorbing and dissipating at least a portion of the impact energy, said aircraft forward pressure bulkhead being void of any rigid non-deformable reinforcement members; said malleable dome comprising a concave aft surface having a constant radius of curvature extending from a center portion to an outer edge portion; at least one full layer on a convex side of said malleable dome, said at least one full layer having the same said radius of curvature; a partial layer coupled to said at least one full layer on a concave side of said at least one full layer on said concave aft surface, said partial layer being located within and around an outer perimeter of said at least one full layer, said partial layer having the same said radius of curvature at an interface with said concave aft surface; and wherein said partial layer has a variable thickness that decreases towards the center of said malleable dome.