Method for producing contoured composite structures and structures produced thereby
First Claim
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1. A method of fabricating a contoured composite structure, comprising:
- laying up a composite charge, including laying up at least one ply of uni-directional fiber pre-preg ply segments, including placing the ply segments in side-by-side, overlapping relationship and aligning longitudinal centerlines of the ply segments in a polar orientation related to the contour of the structure, adjacent ply segments overlapping and forming pie shaped laps in an area adjacent an inner chord comprising said contour and forming pie shaped gaps in an area adjacent an outer chord comprising said contour, the ply segments positioned in overlapping relationship in a substantially flat configuration;
cutting a first end and a second end of the ply segments so as to form an angle in each ply segment that substantially matches the inner chord and the outer chord related to the contour of the structure;
forming the composite charge substantially into the shape of the structure so as to alter at least a portion of the composite charge from the flat configuration; and
curing the composite charge.
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Abstract
A contoured composite structure is fabricated by laying up a composite charge that includes at least one ply formed by uni-directional fiber pre-preg ply segments having substantially constant widths. The ply segments are placed in side-by-side, overlapping relationship with their longitudinal centerlines aligned in a polar orientation related to the contour of the structure. The charge is formed into the shape of the structure and cured.
72 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of fabricating a contoured composite structure, comprising:
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laying up a composite charge, including laying up at least one ply of uni-directional fiber pre-preg ply segments, including placing the ply segments in side-by-side, overlapping relationship and aligning longitudinal centerlines of the ply segments in a polar orientation related to the contour of the structure, adjacent ply segments overlapping and forming pie shaped laps in an area adjacent an inner chord comprising said contour and forming pie shaped gaps in an area adjacent an outer chord comprising said contour, the ply segments positioned in overlapping relationship in a substantially flat configuration; cutting a first end and a second end of the ply segments so as to form an angle in each ply segment that substantially matches the inner chord and the outer chord related to the contour of the structure; forming the composite charge substantially into the shape of the structure so as to alter at least a portion of the composite charge from the flat configuration; and curing the composite charge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17)
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7. A method of fabricating a contoured composite structure, comprising:
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producing a composite charge using an automatically controlled tape placement head, including using the head to place each of a plurality of substantially constant width prepreg tape segments in side-by-side, overlapping relationship on a substrate and to align longitudinal centerlines of the tape segments in a polar orientation related to the contour of the structure, adjacent tape segments overlapping in an area adjacent an inner chord comprising said contour so as to form pie shaped laps and forming pie shaped gaps in an area adjacent an outer chord comprising said contour, the ply segments positioned in a substantially flat configuration; cutting a first end of the plurality of segments proximate the inner chord and a second end of the plurality of segments proximate the outer chord so as to form an angle in each segment that substantially matches the inner chord and the outer chord related to the contour of the structure; forming the composite charge substantially into the shape of the structure so as to alter at least a portion of the composite charge from the flat configuration; and curing the composite charge. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 18)
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12. A method of fabricating a contoured composite structure, comprising:
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forming a substantially flat stack of fiber reinforced, pre-preg plies, including individually placing composite fiber tape segments in side-by-side, overlapping relationship and in a polar orientation related to the contour of the structure, the amount of overlapping being substantially constant among the ply segments; cutting a first end of the plurality of segments proximate an inner chord of the contour and a second end of the plurality of segments proximate an outer chord of the contour so as to form an angle in each segment that substantially matches the inner chord and the outer chord related to the contour of the structure; forming the flat stack of fiber reinforced, pre-preg plies substantially into the shape of the structure so as to alter at least a portion of the plies from the flat stack configuration; and curing the fiber reinforced, pre-preg plies. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification