Engine pylon made from composite material
View Patent ↗A load-bearing structure, such as a pylon or strut, having a monolithic tubular-shaped first central structure composed of composite material and a plurality of metal fittings for supporting an engine on an airframe structure of an aircraft, such as a wing. Most of the fittings are integrated into the load-bearing structure through bonding. The metal fittings carry the high bearing loads that are transmitted into the pylon at the engine-pylon and wing-pylon interfaces. The load-bearing structure may also include a second central structure of a tubular shape composed of composite material and integrated with one end portion of the first central structure by bonding and/or mechanical fasteners.
1. A load-bearing structure for attaching an engine to an airframe structure of an aircraft, the load-bearing structure comprising:
a monolithic, hollow, tubular first central structure having a substantially solid, non-lattice or non-truss configuration, formed of composite material and having a first end and a second end; and
a plurality of fittings attaching the first central structure to the airframe structure and attaching the first central structure to the engine.
2. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the fittings are composed of metal.
3. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the fittings are composed of at least one of aluminum, CRES, titanium, nickel alloy, metal matrix composites, and hybrid fabricated materials.
4. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the first central structure substantially tapers from the second end to the first end of the first central structure.
5. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the fittings are integrated with the first central structure by bonding.
6. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the fittings are bonded to the first central structure by layers of composite material.
7. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the fittings are at least one of externally bonded, internally bonded, embedded within, and integral to the first central structure.
8. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the fittings comprise:
a forward mount integrated with the first central structure, proximate the first end of the first central structure, for connecting the first central structure to the engine; and
an aft mount assembly integrated with the first central structure, proximate the second end of the first central structure, for connecting the first central structure to the engine and to the airframe structure.
9. The load-bearing structure of claim 8 , wherein the aft mount assembly comprises:
two side fittings attached to opposing portions of the first central structure;
a lower fitting attached to a lower portion of the first central structure; and
an upper fitting attached to an upper portion of the first central structure, wherein the side, upper, and lower fittings are at least one of bonded and mechanically attached to the first central structure and mechanically attached to at least one of the engine and the airframe structure.
10. The load-bearing structure of claim 9 , wherein the side fittings are integrated with the upper and lower fittings, and the upper and lower fittings are integrated with a portion of the inner surface of the first central structure.
11. The load-bearing structure of claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of fittings of the aft mount assembly are integrated into the load-bearing structure by a composite consolidation over-wrap which extends around at least a portion of the aft mount assembly and the first central structure.
12. The load-bearing structure of claim 9 , wherein the aft mount assembly comprises a plurality of wing backers integrated with opposing portions of the inner surface of the first central structure.
13. The load-bearing structure of claim 8 , wherein the aft mount assembly comprises an internal support assembly extending between and integrated with upper and lower portions of the inner surface of the first central structure.
14. The load-bearing structure of claim 8 , wherein the aft mount assembly is a monolithic truss structure.
15. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , further comprising at least one thrust reverser unit fitting attached to the first central structure between the first and second end of the first central structure for attaching to two thrust reverse halves of the engine.
16. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , further comprising at least one close-out panel which limits exposure of internal structure to environmental effects, wherein the close-out panel is integrated with the first central structure at the second end of the first central structure.
17. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second central structure of a tubular shape, wherein the second central structure is composed of composite material and a portion of the second central structure is sized to fit inside a portion of the first central structure; and
a composite consolidation over-wrap for bonding the two central components together.
18. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the load-bearing structure is one of a pylon and a strut.
19. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the tubular first central structure may have a cross-section that is one of circular, substantially square, and substantially triangular.
20. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the walls of the tubular first central structure are substantially solid.
21. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein the tubular first central structure may have at least one integral internal web for providing structural support to the load-bearing structure.
22. The load-bearing structure of claim 1 , wherein a thermal insulator separates at least one of the fittings from contacting the tubular first central structure.
23. A load-bearing structure for attaching an engine to a wing of an aircraft, the load-bearing structure comprising:
a monolithic, tubular first central structure formed of composite material and having a first end and a second end;
at least one bulkhead formed of composite material and bonded to inner walls of the first central structure;
a metal forward mount bonded to the first central structure by layers of composite material and mechanically fastened to at least one of the wing and the engine;
two side fittings bonded by layers of composite material to opposing portions of the first central structure and having portions for mechanically attaching to the wing;
a lower fitting bonded by layers of composite material to a lower portion of the first central structure and having portions for mechanically attaching to at least one of the wing and the engine;
an upper fitting bonded by layers of composite material to an upper portion of the first central structure and having portions for mechanically attaching to the wing;
an I-beam extending between and integrated with upper and lower portions of the inner surface of the first central structure; and
a close-out panel integrated with the first central structure at the second end of the first central structure for limiting exposure of internal structure to environmental effects.
24. A load-bearing structure for attaching an engine to a wing of an aircraft, the load-bearing structure comprising:
a monolithic, tubular first central structure formed of composite material and having a first end and a second end;
a metal forward mount bonded to the first central structure by layers of composite material and mechanically fastened to at least one of the wing and the engine;
a monolithic, tubular second central structure formed of composite material having a first end and a second end, wherein a portion of the second central structure is sized to fit inside and be integrated with a portion of the first central structure by at least one of bonding and mechanical fastening means;
at least one bulkhead formed of composite material and bonded to inner surfaces of at least one of the first central structure and the second central structure;
a plurality of central fitting components bonded to both the first central structure proximate the second end of the first central structure and the second central structure proximate the second end of the second central structure by layers of composite material, thereby bonding the second end of the first central structure to the second end of the second central structure; and
an aft attachment fitting bonded to the first end of the second central structure for attaching the second central structure to the wing.