The Boeing Company

Richard D Widdle

Frederick Theodore Calkins

Lee Charles Firth

James Henry Mabe

Brad Lee Kirkwood

Moushumi Shome

Wesley B Crow

Matthew Todd Grimshaw

Lynn Marie Gravatt

Kava Sirvan Crosson-Elturan

Kava S Crosson-Eltruan

Kava S Crosson-Elturan

Liquid shim injection devices and methods for injecting liquid shim material into a gap between adjacent components of an assembly. The liquid shim injection devices comprise a body, which comprises an injection shaft, a liquid shim conduit defined within the body and configured to channel liquid shim material within the injection shaft, and a fluid-permeable region formed along the injection shaft, an actuated fluid seal operably coupled to the injection shaft and configured to be selectively conformed among a plurality of conformations, and a fluid seal actuator assembly configured to transition the actuated fluid seal among the plurality of conformations. Methods comprise inserting the injection shaft into a bore that extends through the adjacent components of the assembly, forming a fluid seal between the liquid shim injection device and an interior component of the assembly, and flowing the liquid shim material from the liquid shim injection device into the gap.

Liquid shim injection devices and methods for injecting liquid shim material between adjacent components

A shape memory alloy (SMA) actuated aerostructure operable to dynamically change shape according to flight conditions is disclosed. Deformable structures are actuated by SMA actuators that are coupled to face sheets of the deformable structures. Actuating the SMA actuators produces complex shape changes of the deformable structures by activating shape changes of the SMA actuators. The SMA actuators are actuated via an active or passive temperature change based on operating conditions. The SMA actuated aerostructure can be used for morphable nozzles such as a variable area fan nozzle and/or a variable geometry chevron of a jet engine to reduce engine noise during takeoff without degrading fuel burn during cruise.

High stiffness shape memory alloy actuated aerostructure

A method to join a first structure to a second structure comprises aligning a first hole in the first structure with a second hole in the second structure and inserting a fastener into the first hole and the second hole. The fastener comprises a shape memory alloy which was formed into a first shape having a diameter slightly larger than a diameter of the first hole and the second hole when the shape memory alloy was in an austenite state and reduced to a second shape having a diameter less than the diameter of the first hole and the second hole when the shape memory alloy was in a martensite state. The method further comprises heating the fastener above an austenite start transition temperature.

Self expanding fastener

In one embodiment a method to join a first structure to a second structure, comprises aligning a first hole in the first structure with a second hole in the second structure and inserting a fastener into the first hole and the second hole. The fastener comprises a shape memory alloy which was formed into a first shape having a diameter slightly larger than a diameter of the first hole and the second hole when the shape memory alloy was in an austenite state and reduced to a second shape having a diameter less than the diameter of the first hole and the second hole when the shape memory alloy was in a martensite state. The method further comprises heating the fastener above an austenite start transition temperature, such that the fastener initiates free expansion from the second shape back to the first shape and establishes physical contact with the surface of the first hole and the second hole and continuing to heat the fastener such that first structure and the second structure proximate the holes and the fastener undergo plastic deformation.

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Carnation, WA, United States of America

Richard D Widdle