Composite structures having composite-to-metal joints and method for making the same

• US 8,894,801 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2012
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Griess, Kenneth Harlan, Georgeson, Gary E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Osele, Mark A
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARM, NICKOLAS R
• Application Number:
  US13/716,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20130122236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 709 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 156/304.1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/02 by heating, with or without pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/48 using adhesives , i.e. using supplementary joining material; solvent bonding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/1248 Interpenetrating groove joints interpenetrating fingered joints B29C66/139
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/43 Joining a relatively small portion of the surface of said articles B29C66/45 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/50 General aspects of joining tubular articles; General aspects of joining long products, i.e. bars or profiled elements; General aspects of joining single elements to tubular articles, hollow articles or bars; General aspects of joining several hollow-preforms to form hollow or tubular articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/71 characterised by the composition of the plastics material of the parts to be joined welding bar compositions B29C65/125
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/721 Fibre-reinforced materials B29C66/729 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/7212 characterised by the composition of the fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/72141 Fibres of continuous length
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/72143 Fibres of discontinuous lengths
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/723 being multi-layered B29C66/7292, B29C66/72941 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/72321 consisting of metals or their alloys
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/742 to metals or their alloys
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/304 In-plane lamination by juxtaposing or interleaving of plies, e.g. scarf joining
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 70/86 Incorporated in coherent impregnated reinforcing layers, e.g. by winding
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2063/00 Use of EP, i.e. epoxy resins or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2307/04 Carbon
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2309/08 Glass
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2703/06 Metal powders, metal carbides or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/30 Vehicles, e.g. ships or aircraft, or body parts thereof vanes or blades B29L2031/08, air bags B29L2022/027
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3002 : Superstructures characterized by combining metal and plastics, i.e. hybrid parts
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3076 : Aircrafts blades, propellers B29L2031/08
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 15/01 : all layers being exclusively metallic making layered metal workpieces by pressure cladding B23K20/22; making coatings with a metallic material characterised by its composition C23C30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 15/14 : next to a fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/05 : 5 or more layers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2250/20 : All layers being fibrous or filamentary
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2260/023 : Two or more layers
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2260/046 : Synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/106 : Carbon fibres, e.g. graphite fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2305/076 : Prepregs
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2305/77 : Uncured, e.g. green
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/714 : Inert, i.e. inert to chemical degradation, corrosion
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2605/18 : Aircraft blades, propellers B32B2603/00
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/06 : for securing layers together; for attaching the product to another member, e.g. to a support , or to another product, e.g. groove/tongue, interlocking
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/14 : characterised by a face layer formed of separate pieces of material which are juxtaposed side-by-side B32B5/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/18 : characterised by an internal layer formed of separate pieces of material which are juxtaposed side-by-side B32B5/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 37/02 : characterised by a sequence of laminating steps, e.g. by adding new layers at consecutive laminating stations
• 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: B32B 5/28 : impregnated with or embedded in a plastic substance not used
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/12 : using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/14 : applied in spaced arrangements, e.g. in stripes
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/061 : Frames
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 14/00 : Alloys based on titanium
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 : Weight reduction
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/10 : Methods of surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/19 : Sheets or webs edge spliced or joined
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/192 : Sheets or webs coplanar
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/195 : Beveled, stepped, or skived in thickness
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24752 : Laterally noncoextensive components

Abstract

A composite structure comprises stacked sets of laminated fiber reinforced resin plies and metal sheets. Edges of the resin plies and metal sheets are interleaved to form a composite-to-metal joint connecting the resin plies with the metal sheets.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating a composite structure, comprising:

forming a multi-layer composite lay-up having a fiber reinforced composite resin portion and a metal portion, including forming a composite-to-metal finger joint between the composite resin portion and the metal portion of the lay-up, wherein the composite resin portion comprises laminated plies of fiber reinforced resin, wherein the metal portion consists of metal sheets and an adhesive layer between each of the metal sheets; and

forming a transition section between the composite resin portion and the metal portion, the transition section including staggered overlaps between the laminated plies and the metal sheets, the transition section configured such that corresponding first ends of each of the metal sheets abut corresponding second ends of the laminated plies, and the staggered overlaps comprise a waveguide configured to support non-destructive evaluations of a bond quality in the composite structure.

2. A method of laying up a structure, comprising:

laying up a first plurality of composite plies, the first plurality of composite plies having a first combined thickness, the first plurality of composite plies having a first end;

laying up a first metal layer, the first metal layer having a second end abutting the first end at a first interface;

placing a first adhesive layer on the metal layer, the first adhesive layer and the first metal layer together having a second combined thickness equal to the first combined thickness;

laying up a second plurality of composite plies over the first plurality of composite plies, the second plurality of composite plies having a third combined thickness, the second plurality of composite plies having a third end;

laying up a second metal layer over the first adhesive layer, the second metal layer having a fourth end, the third end abutting the fourth end at a second interface, the first interface and the second interface staggered with respect to each other.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

placing a second adhesive layer over the second metal layer, the second adhesive and the second metal layer together having a fourth combined thickness equal to the third combined thickness;

laying up a third plurality of composite plies over the second plurality of composite plies, the third plurality of composite plies having a fifth combined thickness, the third plurality of composite plies having a fifth end;

laying up a third metal layer over the second adhesive layer, the third metal layer having a sixth end, the fifth end abutting the sixth end at a third interface, and the first interface, the second interface, and the third interface all staggered with respect to each other.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first metal layer, the second metal layer, the third metal layer, the first interface, the second interface, and the third interface together form an ultrasonic waveguide.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

using ultrasonic waves to analyze a condition of bondlines in the structure.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first interface, the second interface, and the third interface together form nested tabs.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the first metal layer, the second metal layer, the first interface, and the second interface together form an ultrasonic waveguide.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

using ultrasonic waves to analyze a condition of bondlines in the structure.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein laying up the first metal layer includes trimming the first metal layer to a first desired size and shape, and wherein laying up the second metal layer includes trimming the second metal layer to a second desired size and shape.

10. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

after laying up the second metal layer, compacting the structure.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein compacting comprises using a vacuum bagging process.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

after compacting, curing the structure.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

after curing, trimming the structure.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

forming a component of an aircraft using the structure.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

forming the aircraft using the component.