Vought Corporation

Sherwood W McClaren, Iii

Jack A Fouse

Richard A Ely

Disclosed is a process for fabrication and assembly of airframes and airframe components utilizing the principles of diffusion bonding and superplastic forming. A preform blank or blank sheet of material capable of being superplastically formed and diffusion bonded is attached to an airframe body or casing by diffusion bonding and superplastically deformed to form a structural airframe component. The superplastically formed structural component may be diffusion bonded to other airframe components and the superplastic forming and diffusion bonding steps may be performed simultaneously or successively to progressively fabricate and assembly an airframe having unique structural geometries and characteristics without conventional machining or welding of component parts.

Airframe assembly and process

A sound-suppressing panel for use on the surface of a structure adjacent which a fluid is to flow. The panel includes a top sheet (which may be conveniently referred to as a cover) and a bottom sheet, and plurality of walls which are generally perpendicular to the two boundary sheets; the walls have various orientations and intersect one another at various locations so as to form cells which are similar to well-known 'honeycomb' cells. Unlike true honeycomb formed by bees, the cells of an optimum construction according to this invention are not uniform. Ideally, there are at least three different cell sizes, and the cells are intermixed (side by side) so that the fluid passing adjacent the cover will sequentially encounter cells of differing sizes. Throughout the cover are provided a plurality of linear passages which permit the fluid which is flowing above the cover to communicate with the plurality of cells below the cover. The diameters of at least some of the linear passages are different from the diameters of adjacent linear passages; ideally, they differ by a factor of at least two, and they may range in diameter from 0.025 to 1.3 centimeters. The ratio of passage length to passage diameter is preferably much less than 10, in order that oscillating fluid within a given passage will not tend to behave like a 'fountain' in forcing boundary layer flow upward and away from the cover. The panels have utility as resonating liners for ducts associated with jet engines in aircraft.

Growing community of inventors

Grand Prairie, TX, United States of America

Sherwood W McClaren, Iii