The Boeing Company

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Kenneth Walter Young

Patrick John Kinlen

Eric Alan Bruton

Bruno Zamorano Senderos

Edward W Brouwers

Andrew Paul Nowak

Aaron T Nardi

Dennis Lynn Coad

Christopher Harold Childers

Matthew Howard Cawthorne

Michael D Nevinsky

Michael Jared Ventuleth

Michael B Nicholas

Isaac M Nault

Dimitrios Priftis

Gehn D Ferguson

Luke G Warpinski

Implementations provide cold spray additive manufacturing ('CSAM')-based fabrication of a complex multi curvature part (“CMCP”) by cold spraying onto a mold. Implementations achieve the desired shape and dimensions of a CMCP having variable surface thicknesses and utilize reinforcements integrated during CSAM. Reinforcements are integral to each CMCP as soon as fabrication is complete, and maintain stiffness, avoid fluttering, and provide other similar benefits. Implementations provide a stiff CMCP with multiple curvatures having fully controllable variable thicknesses. Integral reinforcements added during fabrication avoid tolerance issues by avoiding coupling non-reinforced CMCPs to reinforcements or other post-fabrication adjustments. CSAM-based CMCPs, having directly integrated reinforcements, exhibit superior tolerances that do not need to be re-worked or otherwise corrected after fabrication. Reinforcement attachment methods that have complex load transfer behavior are not necessary. In some implementations, simplifying load transfer increases the maximum load and decreases the overall weight of the finished CMCP.

Apparatuses, methods, and products for cold spray additive manufacturing of multi curved and reinforced components

Composite airfoils of the present disclosure comprise a root section including a first surface. The airfoils comprise an intermediate section having a first surface and coupled with the root section at a first end. The airfoils comprise a tip section having a first surface and coupled at a first end with a second end of the intermediate section. The airfoils comprise a conductive material layer adjacent at least one of the first surface of the root section, the first surface of the intermediate section, and the first surface of the tip section. The conductive material comprises a first polymer, a second polymer, and a sulfonic acid.

Electrically conductive materials for heating and deicing airfoils

An airfoil is provided that includes an exterior substrate surface, and a coating layer adjacent to the exterior substrate surface. The coating layer has an icephobic coating composition that includes a first polymer, a second polymer that is a fluoropolymer, an isocyanate, and a curative. The coating layer is bonded to the airfoil via an intermediate adhesive layer. The coating layer has a bottom surface, and at least one of the exterior substrate surface and the bottom surface has an RMS surface roughness of at least about 1 micron or greater before the coating layer is bonded to the exterior substrate surface.

Ice protection coating and bonding methods thereof

A method of determining a tool path for an additive deposition on a surface, the method including receiving primary edges data of the surface of a three-dimensional (3D) object; calculating a number of raster lines for applying an additive deposition on the surface; mapping a raster pattern to the surface of the 3D object; calculating surface normal and rotational angles along the raster lines; calculating a nozzle velocity of an additive application used for producing the additive deposition on the surface; identifying curvature effects of the 3D object; and establishing an order of performing passes of the additive deposition on the surface based on a selected direction for performing the additive deposition and a consideration of a residual stress profile of a resulting deposit.

Motion technique for deposition processes to manufacture leading edge protective sheaths

A system and method for fabricating a protective leading-edge structure for an airfoil includes system includes a mandrel and a cold spray additive manufacturing apparatus. The cold spray additive manufacturing apparatus is configured to deposit a metallic powder on a tool surface of the mandrel to form an inner layer, intermediate layers, and an outer layer of the leading-edge structure. The inner layer forms an inner surface of the leading-edge structure. The outer layer forms an outer surface of the leading-edge structure. The intermediate layers form a thickness of the leading-edge structure. The inner surface of the leading-edge structure is configured to be coupled to the airfoil such that the outer surface of the leading-edge structure forms a portion of a leading edge and a portion of an aerodynamic surface of the airfoil.

Leading-edge structures for airfoils and systems and methods for fabricating the same

Methods and apparatus for tooling in layered structures for increased joint performance are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes placing a tool onto a first substrate to define an impression in the first substrate, curing the first substrate, removing the tool from the first substrate to define a joint interface corresponding to the impression, and coupling, at the joint interface, the first substrate to a second substrate.

Methods and apparatus for tooling in layered structures for increased joint performance

A multilayered article is disclosed, the multilayered article including a thermosetting polymer material having at least one surface, a thermoplastic polymer layer deposited on the at least one surface of the thermosetting polymer material, a cold sprayed metal layer present on at least a portion of a surface of the thermoplastic polymer layer, at least one additional layer, the at least one additional layer sandwiching at least a portion of the cold sprayed metal layer between the additional layer and the thermoplastic polymer layer, where the thermoplastic polymer layer has a crystallinity of about 5% to about 60%. A method of providing a composite laminate structure is also disclosed.

Composite laminates with metal layers and methods thereof

A water monitoring system has aback-end system comprising an authentication module, a machine learning module, an alerts module, and a third-party module. The back-end system remotely connects to a local system which has a water monitoring device and the authentication module authenticates the connection relative to a user. The back-end system remotely connects to a third-party system using the third-party module and the authentication module authenticates the connection relative to the same user. The back-end system receives data from the local system and the third-party system, the machine learning module analyzes the data to determine one or more rules which identify water usage as intended or unintended, and the alerts module provides an alert to one or more of the local system, the third-party system, or a client device when the water monitoring device measures water flow data which indicates a leak according to the one or more rules.

Water leak detection device and integration platform

Implementations provide cold spray additive manufacturing ('CSAM') with gas recovery in situ in an open environment without requiring part disassembly and removal to a repair facility. Recapturing and reusing gas in an open environment reduces costs, rendering CSAM more commercially viable and efficient, and avoids risk of new damage to parts from contemporary pre-existing CSAM processes. A gas recovery nozzle attaches to a supersonic nozzle and sends used gas to a gas recovery sub-system by capturing gas that is deflected on impact with the part during CSAM. Captured gas is stored for reuse. A flexible coupling controls distance from the gas recovery nozzle to a part substrate to prevent (1) nozzle clogging; (2) stationary shock wave interference with gas flow; and (3) gas flow misdirection. The gas recovery nozzle also suppresses disruptive supersonic sounds. Implementations enable capture for later reuse of supersonically-propelled gas during in-situ CSAM in open environments.

Systems and methods for cold spray additive manufacturing and repair with gas recovery

Systems and methods are provided for applying cold spray erosion protection to an airfoil. One embodiment is a method for applying an abrasion coating to a fiber-reinforced composite substrate. The method includes applying a bond layer to the fiber-reinforced composite substrate by emitting, with a supersonic nozzle of a High Pressure Cold Spray (HPCS) system, a first gas stream including a first metal powder at a first speed below supersonic speed. The method further includes applying a cold spray deposit layer to the bond layer by emitting, with the supersonic nozzle, a second gas stream including a second metal powder at a second speed above supersonic speed.

Applying cold spray erosion protection to an airfoil

An example method includes: forming a conductive layer on at least a portion of a surface of a substrate, where the substrate comprises a composite material of an aerodynamic structure, and where the conductive layer is configured to provide a conductive path to conduct an electric current generated by a lightning strike to an electrically-grounded location; depositing an insulating layer on the conductive layer; removing one or more portions of the insulating layer to form respective gaps in the insulating layer and expose corresponding one or more portions of the conductive layer; and forming a resistive-heater layer on the insulating layer such that the resistive-heater layer fills the respective gaps in the insulating layer and contacts the corresponding one or more portions of the conductive layer, such that when electric power is provided to the conductive layer, the electric power is communicated to the resistive-heater layer thereby generating heat therefrom.

Growing community of inventors

Bear, DE, United States of America

Kenneth Walter Young