Stitched composite fan blade
First Claim
1. A stitched composite fan blade comprising:
- a fiber reinforced substructure;
a fiber reinforced cover, attached to said substructure, having a leading edge region, a tip region, and a root region;
penetration thread stitched through at least a portion of the thickness of said cover and through the thickness of said substructure;
and a root fitting attached at said root region.
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Abstract
A hollow core fan blade for a gas turbine engine, having stitched composite skins and substructure, is fabricated using a resin transfer molding approach which results in a damage tolerant and cost-efficient structure. The fan blade is comprised of a stitched composite cover that is in-turn stitched to a spar and rib-like substructure made of similar carbon fiber materials. A titanium leading edge, root section, and tip closeout member are added to the stitched carbon fibers and placed inside a forming die. Resin is infused, after which the blade assembly, having predetermined design characteristics, is cured by heating the forming die and pressurizing the part internally with a set of inflatable bladders which ultimately yields a rigid fan blade component.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A stitched composite fan blade comprising:
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a fiber reinforced substructure;
a fiber reinforced cover, attached to said substructure, having a leading edge region, a tip region, and a root region;
penetration thread stitched through at least a portion of the thickness of said cover and through the thickness of said substructure;
and a root fitting attached at said root region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification