The Boeing Company

Ronald Leroy McGhee

Zachary Nathaniel Stoddard

Patrick B Stone

Paul B Diep

David A Lilienthal

Richard A Skilton

Mark A Ulvin

Eileen E Miller

Robert W Murray

Nickolas Scott Ellerbeck

Courtney M Fix

Kristofer Logan Peterson

Robert E Lee

Phillip Andrew Taylor

A system includes a mandrel contoured to define a tapering tubular shape of a workpiece cured on the mandrel and a demolding tool. The demolding tool is configured to remove the workpiece from the mandrel after the workpiece is cured on the mandrel and cut longitudinally. The demolding tool is configured to remove the workpiece from the mandrel by deforming a first end of the workpiece to at least partially disengage the first end of the workpiece from a first end of the mandrel, and subsequently, deforming a second end of the workpiece to at least partially disengage the second end of the workpiece from a second end of the mandrel. The first end of the workpiece may have a first cross-sectional area that is smaller than a second cross-sectional area of the second end of the workpiece.

Demolding

An aircraft fuselage body is constructed of an upper body section having a curved cross-section configuration and a lower body section having a curved cross-section configuration. The upper body section and the lower body section are joined together to form an aircraft fuselage body by splice straps that are secured, end to end along interior surfaces of the upper body section and the lower body section. The aircraft fuselage body being constructed of an upper body section and a lower body section enables installation of systems separately into the upper body section and the lower body section prior to the upper body section and lower body section being joined together.

Aircraft fuselage longitudinal splice for joining half barrel fuselage sections and other spliced fuselage sections

A fuselage structure splice may include a panel having an edge and a strap connected to the first panel along the panel edge. A strap surface not in contact with the panel tapers toward the panel with distance from the panel edge. A stringer is mounted on the panel and extends away from the edge of the panel and has a flange mounted to the panel. A fitting has a stringer base portion and a strap base portion. The stringer base portion is connected to the stringer flange and extends along a first line extending in a plane normal to the panel edge. The strap base portion of the fitting is mounted on the strap surface and extends along a second line in the plane. The second line is transverse to the first line and the strap base portion of the fitting has a constant thickness along the second line.

Fuselage structure splice

A method for fabricating a composite structure is provided. A first number of layers of composite material is laid up to form a first set of stiffeners. A second number of layers of composite material is laid up to form a panel. The first set of stiffeners is associated with a first side of the panel. A pre-cured composite strip is positioned on a second side of the panel, opposite the first side. A third number of layers of composite material is laid up on the second side of the panel to form a second set of stiffeners running perpendicular to the first set of stiffeners. The pre-cured composite lies at an intersection between one of the first set of stiffeners and one of the second set of stiffeners. All the layers of composite material are co-cured to form the composite structure.

Method for co-curing perpendicular stiffeners

Growing community of inventors

Lynnwood, WA, United States of America

Ronald Leroy McGhee