Wing/fuselage connection of an aircraft

• US 8,991,762 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2007
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Defence and Space GmbH
• Original Assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Voss, Ursula, Rocker, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Sanderson, Joseph W
• Assistant Examiner(s): BURGESS, MARC R
• Application Number:
  US12/513,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20110266398A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,706 Days
• Field of Search: 244/45.R, 244/34.R, 244/35.R, 244/117.R, 244/129.1, 244/131, 244/119, 244/53.R, 244/54, 244/55, 244/53.B, 248/554, 607/96, 607/97
• US Class Current: 244/131
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/26 Attaching the wing or tail units or stabilising surfaces

Abstract

A wing-fuselage connection of an aircraft, in which a wing (2) that is arranged in the upper region of the fuselage (1) is connected to the fuselage (1) by means of a number of couplings (3, 4, 5, 6), wherein the couplings (3, 4, 5, 6) are provided for taking up forces in various directions and are designed for a maximum load carrying capacity, in particular for a nominal flight- and landing load (10) or a nominal crash load. According to the invention, the load carrying capacity of the individual wing couplings (3, 4, 5, 6) and their direction of force take-up are matched to each other such that in the case of a defect in one of the couplings (3, 4, 5, 6) the maximum load carrying capacity of the remaining couplings (3, 4, 5, 6) is adequate for safe normal flight operation.

Claims

1. A wing-fuselage connection of an aircraft, in which a wing that is arranged in an upper region of the fuselage is connected to the fuselage, the wing-fuselage connection comprising:

a plurality of connections arranged as at least one row of wing connections that includes at least two first wing connections and at least two second wing connections;

the at least two first wing connections and the at least two second wing connections are arranged in a row extending in an X-direction that is a longitudinal axis of the aircraft and respective first wing connections and respective second wing connections are structured and arranged for taking up forces in various directions,

wherein a load carrying capacity for each of the plurality of connections and their respective force take-up directions are adapted to one another in such a way that, in case one of the plurality of connections becomes defective, a maximum load carrying capacity of the remaining plurality of connections suffices for safe normal flight operations, and

wherein each of the at least two second wing connections comprises a rocker pendulum support having a fuselage-side bearing on a fuselage side, a wing-side bearing on a wing side, and a pendulum supported on the fuselage-side bearing and the wing-side bearing in an articulated fashion, such that at least one of;

lines of applied loads transmitted by the pendulums intersect in the region of the wing, or

a section of lines of applied loads transmitted by the pendulums that extend toward the wing form an acute angle with one of a section of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft that lies between the pendulums or a section of a connecting line of the bearings of the second wing connections on the fuselage side that lies between the pendulums; and

wherein each of the fuselage-side bearings of the second wing connections is directly affixed to two fuselage frames.

2. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the first wing connections are structured and arranged for taking up forces essentially in a Z-direction parallel to a vertical axis of the aircraft, and the second wing connections, which in the case of a complete number of intact wing connections are provided for taking up forces essentially in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft.

3. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 2, wherein the load carrying capacity of the first wing connections and their direction of force take-up are structured and arranged such that, in the case of a failure of one of the second wing connections, the first wing connections together with the second wing connections that remain intact take up the loads occurring in the wing-fuselage connection, without the maximum load carrying capacity of the wing couplings being exceeded in normal flight operation.

4. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 2, wherein the first wing connections are arranged near a front wing spar or a rear wing spar, relative to the fuselage, and the second wing connections are provided in between.

5. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 2, wherein the first wing connections extend essentially parallel to a Z-direction parallel to a vertical axis of the aircraft and are arranged between the fuselage and the wing, while the second wing connections extend essentially in a direction situated in an X-Z-plane, at an inclination to the Z-direction, between the fuselage and the wing, wherein the angles of inclination of the second wing connections are dimensioned and matched to each other so that the second wing connections in the case of a defect of one of the first wing connections take over their loads without their maximum load carrying capacity being exceeded.

6. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 5, wherein the second wing connections extend at an inclination to each other and above the same in the region of the wing are taken together on a shared fitting.

7. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the first wing connections are formed by rocker pendulum supports that essentially are articulated in a Y-Z-plane, while the rocker pendulum supports of the second wing connections are articulated in an X-Z-plane.

8. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the wing connections that are provided for taking up forces essentially in a direction of a vertical axis of the aircraft and in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft are arranged on each side of the fuselage essentially in a row in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft.

9. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, further comprising further connections provided between the fuselage and the wing in order to take up forces essentially in a direction Y of a wingspan.

10. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 9, wherein the further wing connections comprise rocker pendulum supports that in each case are formed by a fuselage-side bearing, a wing-side bearing and a pendulum arranged in between.

11. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 10, wherein the rocker pendulum supports of the further wing connection are essentially articulated in a Y-Z-plane.

12. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the wing-fuselage connection is provided in a high-wing aircraft with a sweptback wing.

13. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the section of the line of applied force for a front wing connection of the at least two second wing connections which extends toward the wing and the one of the section of the longitudinal axis of the aircraft which lies between the pendulums or the section of the connecting line of the bearings of the second wing connections on the fuselage side which lies between the pendulums form an angle between 10 degrees and 30 degrees.

14. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the second wing connections are arranged to lie between the first wing connections.

15. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the at least one row of wing connections comprises two rows of wing connections and arranged symmetric to one another relative to a direction toward a front of the aircraft.

16. The wing-fuselage connection according to claim 1, wherein the at least one row of wing connections comprises more than two rows of wing connections.

17. A wing-fuselage connection of an aircraft, in which a wing that is arranged in an upper region of the fuselage is connected to the fuselage, the wing-fuselage connection comprising:

a plurality of connections arranged as at least one row of wing connections that includes at least two first wing connections and at least two second wing connections;

the at least two first wing connections and the at least two second wing connections are arranged in a row extending in an X-direction that is a longitudinal axis of the aircraft and respective first wing connections and respective second wing connections are structured and arranged for taking up forces in various directions; and

each of the at least two second wing connections comprise a rocker pendulum support having a fuselage-side bearing on a fuselage side, a wing-side bearing on a wing side, and a pendulum supported on the fuselage-side bearing and the wing-side bearing in an articulated fashion,

wherein each of the fuselage-side bearings is directly affixed to two fuselage frames and the pendulums, from the fuselage-side bearing to the wing-side bearing, are oriented to converge toward each other,

whereby a load carrying capacity for each of the plurality of connections and their respective force take-up directions are adapted to one another in such a way that, in case one of the plurality of connections becomes defective, a maximum load carrying capacity of the remaining plurality of connections suffices for safe normal flight operations.

18. A wing-fuselage connection of an aircraft, in which a wing that is arranged in an upper region of the fuselage is connected to the fuselage, the wing-fuselage connection comprising:

a plurality of connections arranged as at least one row of wing connections that includes at least two first wing connections and at least two second wing connections;

the at least two first wing connections and the at least two second wing connections are arranged in a row extending in an X-direction that is a longitudinal axis of the aircraft and respective first wing connections and respective second wing connections are structured and arranged for taking up forces in various directions; and

each of the at least two second wing connections comprise a rocker pendulum support having a fuselage-side bearing on a fuselage side, a wing-side bearing on a wing side, and a pendulum supported on the fuselage-side bearing and the wing-side bearing in an articulated fashion,

wherein each of the fuselage-side bearings is directly affixed to two fuselage frames and, with regard to the X-direction, the at least two wing-side bearings are located between the at least two fuselage-side bearings, whereby imaginary lines extending from the pendulums converge in the wing,

whereby a load carrying capacity for each of the plurality of connections and their respective force take-up directions are adapted to one another in such a way that, in case one of the plurality of connections becomes defective, a maximum load carrying capacity of the remaining plurality of connections suffices for safe normal flight operations.