Alcoa Inc.

Eric M Stull

Israel Stol

James T Burg

Robert J Speer

Todd L Summe

Franklin David Silvio

Jieh-Ren Yeh

A tie down assembly including a cup, a cross-shaped crossbar that is fastened removably to and positioned within a recess of the cup, and a disc-shaped plate that is fastened removably to the cup and/or the crossbar. The crossbar is fastened to the cup by a plurality of fasteners, while the plate is fastened to the cup and/or the crossbar by at least one fastener. The cup is installed within a hole formed within a first surface of a structure, and the plate is positioned against an opposite surface of the structure. When the plate is attached, a compressive load is introduced and squeezes the first and second surfaces of the structure together, such that most of the load is borne down the center of the fastener attaching the plate.

Tie down assembly

A method of repairing a discrepancy in a casting, weldment or other workpiece comprised of a material characterized by thermoplastic properties includes excising the discrepancy by cutting, milling, or otherwise removing workpiece material surrounding the discrepancy so as to remove the discrepancy and form a cylindrical hole in the workpiece. The method further includes placing a cylindrical plug in the cylindrical hole and moving a friction stir welding tool around the circumference of the plug to weld the plug to the workpiece.

Friction stir weld repair

An energy absorption system and method comprised of a crush tube, a taper component, and a flare component. The crush tube is inserted into a matching hole in the taper component. As the taper and flare components are moved down over the crush tube, the taper component decreases the diameter of the crush tube and the flare component splits the crush tube in a plurality of petals. The crush tube may include a plurality of initiator slits to aid in the flaring process. When mounted with the longitudinal axis of the crush tube parallel to an axis of an impact, the present invention is capable of absorbing some or all of the crash event by dissipating energy by the tapering, flaring, friction, and other methods.

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Delmont, PA, United States of America

Eric M Stull