United Technologies Corporation

Robert J Miller

Karl M Prewo

David C Jarmon

Donald William Peters

Eric Minford

Jaime A Arbona

Mark E Palusis

William H Drinkuth

Franklin G Selleck

Robert J Bires

Jeffery C Moree

A fastener assembly for attaching components of dissimilar materials includes a fastener having a base portion and a protruding portion, and a mechanism for tightening the assembly. The base portion is shaped to be complementary for mating with an attachment feature formed within the non-metal component such that the base portion is retained within the non-metal component. The protruding portion including a base end and a distal end with the distal end including a threaded portion. The fastener assembly allows attachment of components fabricated from dissimilar materials without forming through holes in one of the components. Additionally, the fastener assembly compensates for differences in thermal expansion rates between the non-metal component and the metal component while providing a tight attachment therebetween.

Method for attaching a non-metal component to a metal component

Fastener assembly for attaching a non-metal component to a metal component

A fastener includes a composite body and a metal coupling attached to the body. The metal coupling includes an attachment structure to connect the fastener to an external structure. An assembly of components includes a first metallic component having a first coefficient of thermal expansion, a second non-metallic component having a second coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first thermal expansion and having a groove that receives a fastener that extends between the groove and the second component, the fastener slidably engaging the groove to accommodate relative expansion between the components.

Composite fastener for use in high temperature environments

A fastener body comprises a head and a shank fabricated from a composite material. The head has at least one side which extends beyond the side of the shank and has two other sides coplanar with the shank. A fastener for engaging a liner has perpendicular lengthwise and widthwise reference axes and a head and a shank, with the shank extending in a first lengthwise direction away from the head, the head further having at least one extension that extends in the widthwise direction beyond the shank for engaging the liner, wherein substantially all lengthwise directed load components transmitted from the liner to the head are transmitted through the extension.

Fastener

A process for fabricating a composite article is disclosed. A surface of a preconsolidated fiber reinforced glass matrix composite structure is pretreated to promote adhesion to the surface, a mass of fiber-containing uncured resin is molded in contact with the pretreated surface and the resin is cured to consolidate a fiber reinforced resin matrix composite structure and simultaneously bond the resin matrix composite structure to the glass matrix composite structure. A composite article fabricated by the above process is also disclosed.

Method of making hybrid composite structures of fiber reinforced glass

A process for fabricating a composite article is disclosed. A surface of a preconsolidated fiber reinforced glass matrix composite structure is pretreated to promote adhesion to the surface, a mass of fiber-containing uncured resin is molded in contact with the pretreated surface and the resin is cured to consolidate a fiber reinforced resin matrix composite structure and simultaneously bond the resin matrix composite structure to the glass matrix composite structure. An external flap for a gas turbine engine fabricated by the above process is also disclosed.

Hybrid composite structures of fiber reinforced glass and resin matrices

Blade tips of a turbine rotor assembly are ground to precision dimensions of .+-.0.025 mm (.+-.0.001 inch) when the assembly is rotated at high speed during grinding. The speed should be sufficient to produce on the blades a radial acceleration of at least 700 times the force of gravity (6,900 m/s.sup.2). For compressor rotors the direction of rotation should be such that the blades move toward their concave side, and the speed should be sufficient to produce an axial flow. High resultant tip velocities are compensated for when dry grinding titanium alloys by moving the grinding media in the same direction as the tangential velocity at the point of contact. Burrs are eliminated by feeding at a very slow rate, of the order of 0.0004 mm/s when the final dimension is approached.

Method for cylindrical grinding turbine engine rotor assemblies

A rotor assembly comprised of a multiplicity of blades mounted around the periphery of a disk has the blade tips ground to great diametrical precision when the assembly is rotated at a high speed in excess of 1000 rpm in a special grinding process. Individual blade lengths are dynamically measured while the assembly is being ground. These measurements are used to control the grinding process and to also permit accurate assessment of the quality of assemblies in general. A laser triangulation measurement system is used. It is capable of very fast reading of blade length since 3300 or more blades may pass by the measuring point each second.

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North Palm Beach, FL, United States of America

Robert J Miller