Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Lockheed Martin Corporation

William P Fallon, Jr

Frank M Caputo

Bruce D Hansen

Kenneth F Deyo

Andrew Paul Scott

Lei Chen

Francis E Byrnes

Xiaomei Yu

Kishore Kumar Tenneti

Nathaniel Dew

Ryan Patry

An apparatus for securing first and second skins to a core in a composite rotor blade includes an elongated member configured to be installed through a passage in the core of the composite rotor blade. The elongated member has a first end configured to be attached to an outer surface of the first skin and a second end configured to be attached to an outer surface of the second skin. The apparatus also includes a first patch configured to adhere the first end to the outer surface of the first skin, and a second patch configured to adhere the second end to the outer surface of the second skin such the elongated member extends from the outer surfaces of the first and second skins through the passage in the core.

Securing assembly for a rotor blade

The present disclosure is directed, in certain embodiments, a component of a mechanical apparatus. The component includes a cast body with an initial structure formed by a mold and at least one feature deposited on the cast body using a solid state additive manufacturing process, such that in combination the initial structure and the at least one feature form a complete structure of the component.

Housing and method of preparing same using a hybrid casting-additive manufacturing process

A method of making bearings includes treating a metallic surface of a bearing raceway with a pulsed electrochemical processing nozzle to transform the amorphous oxide into a crystalline structure on the metallic surface electro-chemically and convert the metallic surface into a ceramic like hardness surface. Treating the metallic surface can include forming a gradient in material composition transitioning from a purely metallic material at a cross-sectional position within the bearing raceway to a purely crystalline structure material at the ceramic like hardness surface of the bearing raceway.

Electro-chemical hardening of bearing raceways

A method of depositing aluminum onto a substrate is disclosed. In this method, the substrate is disposed as cathode in an electrochemical cell with an anode and a liquid electrodeposition composition comprising an ionic liquid and a source of aluminum, and aluminum is electroplated onto the substrate. Residual water content in the electroplating bath is controlled by exposure to light in the presence of a photo-oxidation catalyst to decompose the water or species associated with water.

Methods and materials for electroplating aluminum in ionic liquids

A variable diameter rotor blade assembly includes a rotor hub with multiple rotor blades each having an outboard blade section telescopically mounted to an inboard blade section. A reeling assembly includes a strap drum that extends and retracts a strap attached to each of the outboard blade sections to selectively change the diameter of the rotor blade assembly. The strap includes a body portion extending toward the drum and a termination portion attached to each of the outboard blade sections. The termination portion is made from a rigid fiber reinforced composite that has a higher rigidity than the body portion. A transition region is formed between the body portion and the termination portion and is made from a flexible matrix-fiber composite that has a higher rigidity than the body portion and a lower rigidity than the rigid fiber reinforced composite. The body portion is formed from layers of spanwise fibers and the termination portion is formed from alternating layers of spanwise fibers and angled fibers resulting in the termination portion having a greater thickness than the body portion. The orientation of the fibers in addition to the rigid fiber composite material increases the overall strength of the termination portion.

Growing community of inventors

Wallingford, CT, United States of America

William P Fallon, Jr