The Boeing Company

Theboeing Company

Luis R Leon

Daniel G Sanders

Garry Anthony Booker

Gregory L Ramsey

David W Foutch

Jeff Dean Will

Pradip K Saha

Joseph R Olivadoti

Ricole Allison Johnson

Carol S Oliver

Marc Rollo Matsen

Lee Charles Firth

David S Nansen

Justin Honshune Lan

Jack William Mauldin

Gary W Coleman

Larry Dean Hefti

Max Robert Runyan

Brenda Catherine Benedetti

Robert Shaun Farrell

Michael Nill

Paul D Edwards

Lynne M Mester

David R Papenfuss

Larry D Hefti

Max R Runyan

Robert S Farrell

Jeff D Will

Methods are disclosed for forming metal workpieces made from a heat-treatable metal that has been shaped and tempered according to specified protocols that facilitate formation of large contoured unitary metal structures having welds that are retained in the finished structure, and finished metal structures made according to such methods.

Single-piece extended laminar flow inlet lipskin

A structure is heated in a tool. The structure is quenched in the tool such that a shape of the structure is maintained, in which quenching is performed by contacting the structure with a quenching medium.

Tool for heating and quenching a structure

A component is formed by welding a plurality of sheets of metal to form a blank with a number of weld nuggets, placing the blank between a die section and a lid section, heating the die section to heat the blank, and introducing a pressurized gas between the lid section and the die section to press the blank into a mold in the die section to form a component. The number of weld nuggets has a desired thickness ratio between about 1.1 to about 1.25 such that the plurality of sheets of metal and the component formed have a number of characteristics that are substantially the same.

Welding in preparation for superplastic forming

A propulsion system comprises a turbine engine, and an engine nacelle including an SPF/DB inner wall having a hot side face sheet against the engine and a cold side face sheet that has noise attenuation openings.

SPF/DB structure for attenuation of noise from air flow

A sandwich panel including a core having a first major side and an opposed second major side, the core defining cavities, a first liner sheet connected to the first major side, the first liner sheet defining apertures, wherein each aperture provides fluid communication with an associated cavity, and a bulk absorber material and/or a thermal conductor material received in at least a portion of the cavities.

Acoustic sandwich panel and method

An acoustic-attenuating wall panel for a nacelle of a turbine engine may include a radiused portion. The radiused portion may include an airflow surface having a concave configuration and which may be exposed to an airflow passing through the nacelle. The radiused portion may include an acoustic attenuating section.

Metallic sandwich structure having small bend radius

A method and apparatus are used to form a corrugated web having a cross sectional shape with at least one characteristic that varies substantially continuously along the substantially the entire length of the web. The apparatus includes multiple sets of dies which progressively form corrugations in a moving sheet. At least one characteristic of the web's cross sectional shape is varied along the entire length of the web by displacing the dies as the sheet moves through the die sets.

Method and apparatus for forming a corrugated web having a continuously varying shape

A superplastically formed structural assembly is provided, as is an associated preform and method for forming such an assembly. The assembly includes a skin member and a support member that are joined to define a space between the members and between the joints. The assembly can be produced by joining the members in a flat configuration, and then forming the resulting preform to a predetermined shape of the structural assembly. The support member defines at least one aperture in communication with the space between the members. Thus, the skin member can be formed by delivering a pressurized fluid through the support member to the skin member, e.g., to superplastically form the skin member against a die that defines a contour surface corresponding in shape to the predetermined configuration of the assembly. The support member can extend in a substantially direct configuration between opposing portions of the skin member.

Formed structural assembly and associated preform

Formed structural assembly and associated preform and method

An apparatus and method for forming corrugated contours in a sheet are provided. The apparatus includes at least three pairs of elongate dies that extend in a longitudinal direction. Each pair of dies is generally parallel and defines a nip therebetween so that the sheet can be moved successively through the nips. At least one actuator is configured to actuate each pair of dies in successively opposed directions generally perpendicular to a direction of motion of the sheet to thereby form the contours in the sheet. Further, each pair of dies is adjustable in a transverse direction generally parallel to the direction of motion of the sheet so that an offset distance between each successive pair of dies can be adjusted.

Adjustable corrugation apparatus and method

Growing community of inventors

Federal Way, WA, United States of America

Luis R Leon