Green Aircraft Interior Panels

• US 20120148824A1
• Filed: 12/12/2011
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Gonzalez-Garcia, Ana, Fita-Bravo, Sergio, Martinez-Sanz, Vicent, Marti-Ferrer, Ferran, Lapena, Nieves, Martin, Pedro P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,782,944 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/301.4
• CPC Class Codes: B28B 19/00 Machines or methods for applying the material to surfaces to form a permanent layer thereon making shaped articles on mandrels B28B1/30; applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces in general B05C; glazing or engobing C04B
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/342 using isostatic pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/345 using matched moulds
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 99/0021 provided with plain or filled structures, e.g. cores, placed between two or more plates or sheets, e.g. in a matrix
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2023/12 PP, i.e. polypropylene
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2027/16 PVDF, i.e. polyvinylidene fluoride
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2067/046 PLA, i.e. polylactic acid or polylactide
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0026 Flame proofing or flame retarding agents
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/04 cellular or porous
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2311/10 Natural fibres, e.g. wool or cotton
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2711/14 Wood, e.g. woodboard or fibreboard
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2715/003 Cellular or porous
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/608 Honeycomb structures
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/066 Interior liners
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 18/248 from specific plants, e.g. hemp fibres
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2111/00612 as one or more layers of a layered structure
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2111/00982 as construction elements for space vehicles or aeroplanes
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 22/0013 Boron compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/006 containing mineral polymers, e.g. geopolymers of the Davidovits type
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/24 containing alkyl, ammonium or metal silicates; containing silica sols reaction mixtures resulting in mineral polymers C04B28/006; polymeric reaction products of alkali metal silicates with isocyanates C08G18/3895
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 40/0263 : Hardening promoted by a rise in temperature C04B40/024 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 11/71 : Salts of phosphoric acids
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 11/82 : with boron oxides; with boric, meta- or perboric acids or their salts, e.g. with borax
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 15/227 : of hydrocarbons, or reaction products thereof, e.g. afterhalogenated or sulfochlorinated
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 15/507 : Polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 2101/04 : Vegetal fibres
• CPC Class Codes: D06M 23/08 : Processes in which the treating agent is applied in powder or granular form adhesives for multi-layer textile fabrics D06M17/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/10 : Production of cement, e.g. improving or optimising the production methods; Cement grinding
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 : Weight reduction
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/91 : Use of waste materials as fillers for mortars or concrete
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24995 : Two or more layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249952 : At least one thermosetting synthetic polymeric material layer

Abstract

The present invention relates to sandwich panels used as aircraft interior parts. In addition to provide a finishing function, the sandwich panels need to have certain mechanical properties and have sufficient fire resistance to retard the spread of fire within the vehicle interior. The present invention provides an aircraft interior panel with skins comprising natural fibre reinforced composites based either on an inorganic thermoset resin or a thermoplastic resin. Such panels provide the required flame and heat resistance, allow easy recycling and disposal, are cheaper and offer significant weight savings over conventional sandwich panels.

Claims

1. An aircraft interior panel, comprising:

a core sandwiched between a first skin and a second skin,

wherein the first skin and the second skin both comprise a composite comprising a composite matrix of natural fibres set within a resin.

2. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein the natural fibres have been treated with a flame retardant.

3. The aircraft interior panel of claim 2, wherein the flame retardant is a non-halogenated flame retardant.

4. The aircraft interior panel of claim 2, wherein the flame retardant is one of a boron derivative, disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, and phosphate nanoparticles.

5. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein the natural fibres are flax.

6. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein the resin is an inorganic thermoset resin.

7. The aircraft interior panel of claim 6, wherein the inorganic thermoset resin comprises an aluminum silicate derivative.

8. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein the resin is a thermoplastic resin.

9. The aircraft interior panel of claim 8, wherein the thermoplastic resin comprises one of polypropylene and polylactic acid.

10. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein a flame retardant protective coating is on an outer surface of at least one of the first skin and the second skin.

11. The aircraft interior panel of claim 10, wherein the resin comprises polypropylene and the protective coating comprises sodium silicate nanoparticles encapsulated within aluminum nanoparticles.

12. The aircraft interior panel of claim 10, wherein the resin comprises polylactic acid and the protective coating comprises nanoparticles of at least one of phosphates, ammonium salts, nanographene, carbonate, and sodium silicate.

13. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein the core comprises one of a paper honeycomb and a thermoplastic foam.

14. The aircraft interior panel of claim 13, wherein the thermoplastic foam is a fire resistant thermoplastic foam.

15. The aircraft interior panel of claim 14, wherein the fire resistant thermoplastic foam is a polyvinylidene fluoride foam.

16. The aircraft interior panel of claim 1, wherein the core has been activated to enhance adhesion to the first skin and the second skin.

17. The aircraft interior panel of claim 16, wherein the core has been activated to enhance adhesion by one of a dielectric barrier discharge process, a chemical etching, and using an adhesive.

18. An aircraft, comprising:

at least one aircraft interior panel,

wherein the at least one aircraft interior panel comprises;

a core sandwiched between a first skin and a second skin,

wherein the first skin and the second skin both comprise a composite comprising a composite matrix of natural fibres set within a resin.

19. A method of manufacturing an aircraft interior panel, the method comprising:

laying up natural fibres;

impregnating the natural fibres with a resin;

curing the natural fibres and the resin to form a first skin and a second skin;

laying up the first skin and the second skin on each side of a core to form a stack; and

curing the stack to form the aircraft interior panel.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the laying up the first skin and the second skin on each side of the core to form a stack and the curing the stack to form the aircraft interior panel are performed in one step.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the curing is performed by using one of a vacuum bag process, a mechanical press, and an autoclave.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises providing a flame retardant protective coating on an outer surface of at least one of the first skin and the second skin.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises activating the surface of the core to improve adhesion of the core to the first skin and the second skin.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises using adhesives to improve adhesion of the core to the first skin and the second skin.