Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Stanley T Peters

Rolf A Guenther

Alvin H Nakagawa

Robert L Kolek

Jeffrey J Anderson

Clarence F Marshall

A device and method for producing a tapered scarf joint between two composites includes a cutting guide for cutting plies to incrementally variable lengths. The joint is produced on a filament winding machine having a mandrel and a winding eye for delivering tacky prepreg filament bands. A first helical ply is wound around the mandrel. Next, a cutting guide edge is positioned over the first ply an incremental distance inward from the ply end. As the next helical ply is wound, the filaments are cut at the cutting guide edge. The cut filament ends are pressed against the first ply. The process is repeated N times. The cutting guide is then removed from the mandrel, and a final ply is wound over the entire length of the composite. Similarly, the same cutting guide is then used to produce an outwardly tapered composite end. Only this time the cutting guide edge is positioned incrementally outward along a tapered wedge attached to one end of the mandrel. Finally the inwardly tapered composite end is adhesively attached to the outwardly tapered composite end, thereby producing a relatively inexpensive high strength composite joint without increasing composite thickness.

Method and device for producing a tapered scarf joint

A composite to metal joint (10) for torsional shafts is disclosed that will not fail in simple shear and can be manufactured without slipping, bridging, or kinking of the filament using a filament winding machine. The composite to metal joint includes a filament composite (16) formed by winding the filament with the filament winding machine around a metal mandrel (12). The mandrel (12) has an outer surface (14) upon which said filament composite (16) is formed with a cross sectional shape that is asymmetrical about an axis of rotation (24). Also, the outer surface (14) presents a positive angle of incidence to said filament when said filament winding machine winds hoop plies and angle plies.

Composite to metal joint for torsional shafts

A method of making a composite to metal joint between a metal ring and a tubular composite formed from crossing helical windings of high strength fibers including the steps of winding the fiber on a mandrel at a helical angle equal to or greater than the slip angle of the fiber and providing the metal ring with a surface in the form of a hyperboloid of one sheet and a pair of isotensoidal surfaces of revolution contiguous with the hyperboloidal surface to form a concave portion in the ring over which the helical fibers form straight lines without bridging and hug these concave surfaces to form an interference fit between the composite and the metal ring.

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Mt. View, CA, United States of America

Stanley T Peters