Spiral laminated structural cone and manufacturing method

• US 9,205,625 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2013
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• 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): Lan, Yan
• Application Number:
  US13/770,330
• Publication Number:
  US 20140234566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• Field of Search: 428/105, 428/113, 428/36.1, 428/36.91, 428/58, 229/4.5, 229/919
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 dimensional stability B32B2307/734
• 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 cone-shaped composite article may include an inner sublaminate containing at least four unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of 0, 90, −45, and +45 degrees such that the inner laminate has a quasi-isotropic layup pattern at any location on the inner laminate. The cone-shaped composite article may also include an outer sublaminate containing at least four unidirectional plies having an outer stacking sequence that is a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence. Each one of the unidirectional plies may be continuous along a ply arclength wrapping 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article and may have opposing ply ends terminating at a ply seam.

Claims

1. A cone-shaped composite article, comprising:

an inner sublaminate having a cone shape and containing at least four unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of 0, 90, +45, and −

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

an outer sublaminate having an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence, the mirror image being an arrangement where the quantity and fiber angles of the plies on one side of a through-thickness mid-plane of the composite article are equal to and in reverse order to the quantity and fiber angles of the plies on an opposite side of the through-thickness mid-plane;

each one of the unidirectional plies being continuous along a ply arclength wrapping 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article and having opposing ply ends terminating at a ply seam; 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 cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein the four unidirectional plies in each one of the inner sublaminate and the outer sublaminate include:

a first pair of unidirectional plies each having a first fiber angle, the ply seam of one ply of the first pair being clocked 180 degrees relative to the ply seam of a remaining ply of the first pair;

a second pair of unidirectional plies each having a second fiber angle oriented 90 degrees relative to the first fiber angle, the ply seam of one ply of the second pair being clocked 180 degrees relative to the ply seam of a remaining ply of the second pair, the ply seams of the second pair of unidirectional plies being aligned with the ply seams of the first pair of unidirectional plies.

3. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

the ply seam comprises a ply butt joint.

4. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

the inner sublaminate and the outer sublaminate comprise a balanced layup; and

the cone-shaped composite article having a plurality of the balanced layups.

5. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

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

6. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

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

7. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 6, wherein:

the pre-impregnated composite plies comprise unidirectional carbon fibers pre-impregnated with polymer matrix material.

8. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

the unidirectional plies include fibers having a modulus of approximately 30-70×

10⁶ pounds per square inch.

9. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

the unidirectional plies have an aerial density of approximately 50-350 grams/square meter.

10. The cone-shaped composite article of claim 1, wherein:

the unidirectional plies have a ply thickness of at least approximately 0.002 inch.

11. A cone-shaped composite article, comprising:

an inner sublaminate having a cone shape and containing four unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of 0, 90, +45, and −

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

an outer sublaminate having an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the inner stacking sequence, the mirror image being an arrangement where the quantity and fiber angles of the plies on one side of a through-thickness mid-plane of the composite article are equal to and in reverse order to the quantity and fiber angles of the plies on an opposite side of the through-thickness mid-plane;

each one of the unidirectional plies being continuous along a ply arclength wrapping 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article and having opposing ply ends terminating at a ply seam;

at least one global axial ply laminated with the inner sublaminate and the outer sublaminate and comprising a plurality of axial ply wedges arranged in side-by-side relation and extending 360 degrees around the cone-shaped composite article; and

each axial ply wedge having a fiber angle being generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cone-shaped composite article.