Ltv Aerospace & Defense Company

Stanley L Whitcher

Earl L Stone, Iii

James C Foster

A composite, carbon-carbon rotor or rotor hub (20) for use in power translating devices, such as in a turbine engine or in fluid pumps, includes a plurality of carbon-carbon laminate plies (P1-P25) layered to form the thickness of the rotor. The plies include alternating plies of cloth and spiral plies of fibrous material having different diameters to provide a desired variation in the cross-sectional configuration of the rotor. The individual spiral plies may vary in thickness from near the center to the outer edge and may be either tapered or formed to other contours. The cloth plies are positioned at predetermined orientations such that the strand axes are not aligned. These plies consist of fibrous carbon or graphite filament tape preimpregnated with a thermosetting polymer material, such as phenolic resin. The spiral plies are individual discs of resin impregnated fibrous carbon or graphite tow formed by winding the tow on a rotating shaft (54) having forming plates (56, 64) on both sides thereof to define the contour of the discs. The cross-sectional contour of the spiral plies is controlled by the forming face of the plates and by applying an appropriate tension to the tow during winding to completely fill the area between the forming faces during the winding process. The composite rotor or rotor hub is cured, pyrolyzed and densified using predetermined time/temperature/pressure cycles to form a high strength carbonized structure having orthotropic properties.

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Dallas, TX, United States of America

Stanley L Whitcher