The Boeing Company

Karl B Lee

Jeffery Lee Marcoe

John Dempsey Morris

Christopher Gary Harris

Lyle Ray Deobald

Hyukbong Kwon

Mark Charles Iden

Paul Elfes Nelson

Chun-Liang Lin

Ryan M Mahn

Ben Christopher Welte

Daniel Patrick Murphy

Mark C Iden

Jeffrey L Marcoe

Lyle R Deobald

A composite stiffener is fabricated using preforms of laminated, unidirectional composite tape. The stiffener includes a void that is reinforced by a filler wrapped with a structural adhesive. The surfaces of the preforms surrounding the void include a layer of composite fabric which is bonded to the filler by the adhesive, thereby increasing the toughness of stiffeners around the void and improving pull-off strength of the stiffener.

Reinforced stiffeners and method for making the same

A wing joint including a T-chord and a splice plate for connecting an inboard wing panel assembly and an outboard wing panel assembly. The wing panel assemblies include a stringer co-bonded or co-cured with a wing skin. The webbing and cap of the stringer may be trimmed to expose a noodle and base flange. The noodle and base flange interface with the bottom of the T-chord and the wing skin interfaces with the splice plate. The exposed noodle may be non-flush with the base flange of the trimmed stringer. The bottom of the T-chord may include a groove to accommodate a non-flush noodle so that a gap does not exist between the T-chord and the base flange. Alternatively, shims may be used to compensate for a non-flush noodle or the base flange and web may include sacrificial plies permitting the base flange and web to be trimmed flush with the noodle.

Joint for composite wings

Apparatus and methods provide for utilizing continuous curved composite stringers to control the loads and corresponding moments within curved regions of an aircraft or other vehicle without delamination or other interlamina failures. According to embodiments described herein, any number of tapered height curved composite stringers may be coupled to continuous skin components to create a curved continuous panel. The tapered height curved composite stringers may have webs that taper to a reduced height within curved regions and corresponding base flanges that widen during web tapering. Reinforcement fittings may be coupled to the base flanges in the curved regions for further strengthening and to provide for the attachment of supplemental panels to the stringers.

Tapered height curved composite stringers and corresponding panels

Technologies are described herein for enhancing joint capability and reducing the risk of delaminating a stringer using skew-angle radius fillers. A skew-angle radius filler for enhancing joint capability includes a top surface and a bottom surface separated by a thickness. The radius filler also includes a radius contact side that has an edge radius that is sized to match a radius of a web joint of a stringer. The radius filler also includes a pair of opposing non-parallel sides that may extend from the radius contact side at an acute angle, and a rear side that is shorter than the radius contact side.

Skew-angle radius filler

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Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Karl B Lee