초록 ▼

A method for fabricating a grid-stiffened structure from fiber-reinforced composite materials. Ribs are formed on a smooth hard base tool. Expansion blocks are placed in the shallow cavities formed by the ribs and the base tool, and held in place by one of several means while a skin is placed over t

A method for fabricating a grid-stiffened structure from fiber-reinforced composite materials. Ribs are formed on a smooth hard base tool. Expansion blocks are placed in the shallow cavities formed by the ribs and the base tool, and held in place by one of several means while a skin is placed over the ribs, expansion blocks, and base tool. The assembly is then placed in a vacuum bag and autoclave cured. After cooling, the formed structure is separated from the base tool and the expansion blocks are removed from the cavities. This abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, and is intended to allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A method for making a grid-stiffened structure comprising:forming ribs by situating an uncured material on a hard base tool so that cavities are formed by the ribs and the hard base tool;placing at least one expansion block in each of a plurality of the cavities, and in contac

What is claimed is: 1. A method for making a grid-stiffened structure comprising:forming ribs by situating an uncured material on a hard base tool so that cavities are formed by the ribs and the hard base tool;placing at least one expansion block in each of a plurality of the cavities, and in contact with the hard base tool;maintaining contact between the expansion blocks and the hard base tool by applying a shrink-wrap;removing the shrink-wrap immediately before applying a skin over the ribs and the expansion blocks; andcuring an assembly including the ribs, the expansion blocks and the skin by heating the assembly, so that the expansion blocks expand and laterally compress the ribs, wherebya grid-stiffened structure is formed by the skin being attached to the cured ribs.