Method of manufacturing a spiral laminated structural cone

• US 10,076,899 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2015
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Aston, Richard W., Cope, Brett T., Streett, Andrew R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dodds, Scott W
• Application Number:
  US14/949,224
• Publication Number:
  US 20160075125A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• Field of Search: 264158, 264258
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/02 by heating, with or without pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/432 for making tubular articles or closed loops, e.g. by joining several sheets B29C66/547 takes precedence; bending and joining sheets at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the article being formed and joining the edges B29C53/38; for making hollow articles or hollow preforms
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/16 using fibres of substantial or continuous length non-woven fabrics per se D04H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/256 Sheets, plates, blanks or films
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2009/00 Layered products
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3097 Cosmonautical vehicles; Rockets
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 1/00 Layered products having a non-planar shape
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/20 All layers being fibrous or filamentary
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/02 Synthetic macromolecular fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/306 Resistant to heat
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/308 Heat stability
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/734 Dimensional stability
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2605/00 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/02 characterised by features of form at particular places, e.g. in edge regions non-uniform thickness B32B3/263
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 37/06 characterised by the heating method
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 37/182 one or more of the layers being plastic
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/1808 characterised by the laying up of the layers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/12 characterised by the relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers, e.g. the fibres or filaments being parallel or perpendicular to each other
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/26 another layer next to it also being fibrous or filamentary relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers B32B5/12
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/22 Parts of, or equipment specially adapted for fitting in or to, cosmonautic vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/641 : Interstage or payload connectors docking systems B64G1/646
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/10 : Methods of surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/192 : Sheets or webs coplanar

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a cone-shaped composite article may include providing unidirectional plies in a continuous arcuate shape in a flat pattern configured to wrap 360 degrees around a cone-shaped mandrel such that opposing ply ends of each unidirectional ply terminate at a ply seam. The method may further include laying up at least one inner sublaminate on the cone-shaped mandrel, the inner sublaminate containing at least four of the unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of −45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location of the inner sublaminate. The method may additionally include laying up at least one outer sublaminate in an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the at least one inner stacking sequence.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a cone-shaped composite article, comprising the steps of:

providing unidirectional plies in a continuous arcuate shape in a flat pattern configured to wrap 360 degrees around a cone-shaped mandrel such that opposing ply ends of each unidirectional ply terminate at a ply seam;

laying up at least one inner sublaminate on the cone-shaped mandrel, the inner sublaminate containing at least four of the unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of −

45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location of the inner sublaminate;

laying up at least one outer sublaminate in an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the at least one inner stacking sequence; and

the ply seam of at least two of the plies being clocked at different locations around a circumference of the cone-shaped composite article.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of laying up the inner sublaminate and the outer sublaminate each include:

providing a first pair of unidirectional plies each having a first fiber angle;

clocking the ply seams of the first pair of unidirectional plies 180 degrees relative to one another around a circumference of the cone-shaped composite article;

providing a second pair of unidirectional plies each having a second fiber angle oriented 90 degrees relative to the first fiber angle; and

clocking the ply seams of the second unidirectional plies 180 degrees relative to one another and in alignment with the ply seams of the first pair of unidirectional plies.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

laying up the unidirectional plies such that the ply seam of at least one of the unidirectional plies forms a ply butt joint.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

a gap between opposing ply ends of the ply butt joint in at least one of the unidirectional plies is less than approximately 0.10 inch.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

laying up each one of the unidirectional plies by aligning a ply end of the arcuate shape with a seam location index mark on the cone-shaped mandrel.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

vertically aligning at least one of an inner radius and an outer radius of the arcuate shape with respective ones of an upper edge index mark and a lower edge index mark on the cone-shaped mandrel.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

laying up a plurality of balanced layups; and

each one of the balanced layups comprising an inner sublaminate paired with an outer sublaminate being a mirror image of the inner sublaminate.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forming at least one of the unidirectional plies from a plurality of courses of unidirectional tape arranged in side-by-side relation to one another.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

laying up a plurality of axial ply wedges in side-by-side relation and extending 360 degrees around the cone-shaped mandrel to form a global axial ply having fiber angles being generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cone-shaped composite article.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of laying up the plurality of axial ply wedges includes:

laying up the plurality of axial ply wedges to form a plurality of wedge butt joints; and

staggering the wedge butt joints in each one of the global axial plies relative to the wedge butt joints in one or more remaining ones of the global axial plies.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the axial ply wedges each having a wedge height being substantially equivalent to a ply width.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

vertically aligning at least one of an inner radius and an outer radius of the axial ply wedges with respective ones of an upper edge index mark and a lower edge index mark on the cone-shaped mandrel.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the axial ply wedges are formed of unidirectional material.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the unidirectional plies are comprised of pre-impregnated composite plies.

15. A method of manufacturing a cone-shaped composite article, comprising the steps of:

providing unidirectional plies in a continuous arcuate shape in a flat pattern configured to wrap 360 degrees around a cone-shaped mandrel such that opposing ply ends of each unidirectional ply terminate at a ply seam forming a ply butt joint;

laying up at least one inner sublaminate on the cone-shaped mandrel, the inner sublaminate containing at least four of the unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of −

45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate defines a quasi-isotropic layup pattern at any location of the inner sublaminate, an orientation of the quasi-isotropic layup pattern continuously changing in a spiraling manner along a circumferential direction of the cone-shaped composite article; and

laying up at least one outer sublaminate in an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the at least one inner stacking sequence wherein a quantity and fiber angles of the unidirectional plies on one side of a through-thickness mid-plane of the composite article are equal to and in reverse order to a quantity and fiber angles of the unidirectional plies on an opposite side of the through-thickness mid-plane; and

the ply seam of at least two adjacent unidirectional plies of at least one of the inner sublaminate and outer sublaminate being clocked at different locations around a circumference of the cone-shaped composite article.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the steps of laying up the inner sublaminate and the outer sublaminate each include:

providing a first pair of unidirectional plies each having a first fiber angle;

clocking the ply seams of the first pair of unidirectional plies 180 degrees relative to one another around a circumference of the cone-shaped composite article;

providing a second pair of unidirectional plies each having a second fiber angle oriented 90 degrees relative to the first fiber angle; and

clocking the ply seams of the second unidirectional plies 180 degrees relative to one another and in alignment with the ply seams of the first pair of unidirectional plies.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

laying up the unidirectional plies such that the ply seam of at least one of the unidirectional plies forms a ply butt joint.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

laying up a plurality of axial ply wedges in side-by-side relation and extending 360 degrees around the cone-shaped mandrel to form a global axial ply having fiber angles being generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cone-shaped composite article.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the unidirectional plies are comprised of pre-impregnated composite plies.

20. A method of manufacturing a cone-shaped composite article, comprising the steps of:

providing pre-impregnated unidirectional plies in a continuous arcuate shape in a flat pattern configured to wrap 360 degrees around a cone-shaped mandrel such that opposing ply ends of each unidirectional ply terminate at a ply seam;

laying up an inner sublaminate on the cone-shaped mandrel, the inner sublaminate containing four of the unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of −

45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location of the inner sublaminate;

laying up an outer sublaminate over the inner sublaminate, the outer sublaminate containing four of the unidirectional plies having an outer stacking sequence in an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of −

45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the outer sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location of the outer sublaminate;

laying up a plurality of axial ply wedges in side-by-side relation to form at least one global axial ply having fiber angles being generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cone-shaped mandrel; and

applying heat and pressure to the inner sublaminate, the outer sublaminate, and the global axial ply until cured together to form the cone-shaped composite article.