The Boeing Company

Theboeing Company

Milan Stefanovic

Omid B Nakhjavani

Mohammad Ali Heidari

Robert H Willie

Leonard J Hebert

Naimishkumar Harpal

Andrew Y Na

Paul S Park

Parminder Singh

Lowell Bruce Campbell

Michael D Jones

Micah D Druckman

Naveena Mallikarjunaiah

Eric John Zimney

Bradley A Olmstead

Lowell B Campbell

Robert H Willier

Singh Parminder

A balancing system and method for an engine of an aircraft includes a housing retaining a magnetorheological fluid including magnetic particles within a carrier fluid. Electromagnets are coupled to the housing. The electromagnets are associated with fan blades of the engine. A balancing control unit is in communication with the electromagnets and sensors of the fan blades.

Balancing systems and methods for an engine of an aircraft

Various techniques provide a heat shield assembly and mounting thereof on an aircraft. In one example, a heat shield assembly may include flexible member. The heat shield assembly may further include a plurality of frame members disposed on the flexible member. The heat shield assembly may further include a plurality of mounting structures configured to directly mount the heat shield assembly to a strut of an airplane. Each of the plurality of mounting structures may be disposed on one of the plurality of frame members. Related methods are also provided.

Heat shield assembly and mounting thereof on aircraft

Example systems and methods to optimize and integrate of thermal and structural analyses are described herein. An example method includes performing a thermal analysis of a component using a first mesh representing the component to produce a thermal distribution across the component. The first mesh has first nodes based on a first element size. The example method includes using a first mapping file to assign temperature values to second nodes of a second mesh representing the component based on the thermal distribution. The second nodes are based on a second element size different than the first element size. The example method also includes performing a structural analysis of the component using the second mesh and the assigned temperature values to produce gauge sizes for the component and using a second mapping file to assign gauge values to the first nodes of the first mesh based on the gauge sizes.

Optimization and integration of thermal and structural analyses

In one example, a strut for mounting a jet engine to a wing of an aircraft includes a plurality of engine mounts and a space frame truss supported from the wing and including front and aft portions, the front portion being coupled to and supporting the engine mounts, the aft portion extending upwardly and rearwardly from an aft end of the front portion. By removing the aft end of the strut from the core exhaust zone of the engine, substantial reductions in the weight and drag of the strut, and a corresponding increase in the specific fuel consumption of the associated aircraft may be achieved.

Enhanced performance jet engine mounting struts

Methods and apparatus for analyzing fatigue of a structure and optimizing a characteristic of the structure based on the fatigue analysis are disclosed herein. An example method disclosed herein includes obtaining mass and unit stress values of a plurality of details of interest of a structural component, calculating fatigue margins for each of the details of interest, identifying among the calculated fatigue margins any negative fatigue margins associated with one or more of the details of interest, and adjusting, via a processor, a dimensional characteristic of each detail of interest associated with the negative fatigue margin(s) until positive fatigue margin(s) at each detail of interest is obtained.

Methods and apparatus for analyzing fatigue of a structure and optimizing a characteristic of the structure based on the fatigue analysis

In one example embodiment, a strut for mounting a jet engine to a wing of an aircraft includes a plurality of engine mounts and a space frame truss supported from the wing and comprising front and aft portions, the front portion being coupled to and supporting the engine mounts, the aft portion extending upwardly and rearwardly from an aft end of the front portion. By removing the aft end of the strut from the core exhaust zone of the engine, substantial reductions in the weight and drag of the strut, and a corresponding increase in the specific fuel consumption of the associated aircraft may be achieved.

Growing community of inventors

Everett, WA, United States of America

Milan Stefanovic