Load Bearing Element And A Method For Manufacturing A Load Bearing Element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016347464-A1
Application number	US-201414564216-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 9, 2014
Priority date	Dec 20, 2013
Publication date	Dec 1, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A load bearing element for attachment of a heat generating unit to a heat sensitive supporting structure, wherein said load bearing element includes at least one body integrally formed by additive layer manufacturing, ALM. The body is adapted to provide a controlled heat transfer from said heat generating unit to said heat sensitive supporting structure.

First claim

1 . A load bearing element for attachment of a heat generating unit to a heat sensitive supporting structure, wherein said load bearing element comprises:
at least one body integrally formed by additive layer manufacturing (ALM), said body being adapted to provide a controlled heat transfer from said heat generating unit to said heat sensitive supporting structure.

2 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein the integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element is formed such that
the integrally manufactured body is configured to shield the heat sensitive structure from thermal radiation emitted directly or indirectly by said heat generating unit, and/or that the integrally manufactured body is configured to transfer thermal energy received from said heat generating unit by a fluid moving by convection through cooling cavities and/or along cooling ribs of said integrally manufactured body to the surrounding, and/or that the integrally manufactured body is configured to spread the thermal energy received from said heat generating unit by thermal conduction via said integrally manufactured body to a footprint area, where the load bearing element is attached to said heat sensitive supporting structure.

3 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein the integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element is formed such that by the controlled heat transfer a mechanical stiffness throughout said integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element and/or a mechanical stiffness of said heat sensitive supporting structure is maintained for a load less than an admissible maximum load, carried by said load bearing element and/or a thermal energy less than a maximum thermal energy generated by said heat generating unit and/or is formed such that the integrally manufactured body at least partially absorbs mechanical forces.

4 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein said integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element comprises several layers printed from the same or different fire proof materials.

5 . The load bearing element according to claim 4 , wherein the printed layers of the integrally manufactured body of the load bearing element have different heat transport properties or other physical properties, in particular physical density, depending on the position of the respective printed layers relative to the heat generating unit attached by said load bearing element to said heat sensitive supporting structure.

6 . The load bearing element according to claim 5 , wherein layers of said integrally manufactured body located close to said heat generating unit comprise at least first thermal conductivity lower than at least second thermal conductivity of layers located close to the heat sensitive supporting structure.

7 . The load bearing element according to claim 5 , wherein layers of the integrally manufactured body close to said heat generating unit provide a at least first radiation shielding higher than at least second radiation shielding of layers located close to the heat sensitive supporting structure.

8 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein a cross-section through said integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element parallel to said heat sensitive supporting structure increases towards the heat sensitive supporting structure to spread the thermal energy received from said heat generating unit to an extended footprint area, where the load bearing element is attached to said heat sensitive supporting structure.

9 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein the integrally manufactured body of the load bearing element comprises a three-dimensional structure printed by additive layer manufacturing (ALM) according to a three-dimensional bionic design data model read from a database.

10 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein the integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element is a load bearing bracket for attachment of the heat generating unit to a heat sensitive supporting structure of a vehicle.

11 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein said integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element is a longitudinal body comprising a longitudinal core strut connected to a cylindrical circumferential ring via branches providing longitudinal cooling cavities,
wherein said integrally manufactured longitudinal body of said load bearing element comprises cooling ribs and/or cooling tubes attached to the circumferential ring, or wherein said integrally manufactured body of said load bearing element is a longitudinal body comprising a longitudinal core strut surrounded by a porous cladding adapted to shield said longitudinal core strut from external heat and/or fire.

12 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein said heat sensitive supporting structure is a fuselage of a flying vehicle comprising an aircraft, a spacecraft or a helicopter or is a chassis of a land vehicle.

13 . The load bearing element according to claim 1 , wherein the heat generating unit is an auxiliary power unit (APU) mounted in a fire compartment of a flying vehicle or of a land vehicle.

14 . A vehicle comprising at least one load bearing element for attachment of a heat generating unit to a heat sensitive supporting structure, wherein said load bearing element comprises:
at least one body integrally formed by additive layer manufacturing (ALM), said body being adapted to provide a controlled heat transfer from said heat generating unit to said heat sensitive supporting structure.

15 . A method for manufacturing a body of a load bearing element, the method comprising:
integrally forming the body by additive layer manufacturing (ALM) such that the integrally formed body provides a controlled heat transfer from a heat generating unit carried by said load bearing element to a heat sensitive supporting structure to which said heat generating unit is attached by means of said load bearing element.

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Gmbh

Inventors

• Seack Oliver
• Hegenbart Matthias
• Benthien Hermann
• Piesker Markus
• Rohde Jens
• Palm Sebastian
• Clausen Joern
• Radny Matthias
• Knapp Ulrich

Classifications

• B64C1/403 Primary

  Arrangement of fasteners specially adapted therefor, e.g. of clips · CPC title

• B22F10/28

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title

• B22F10/18

  by mixing binder with metal in filament form, e.g. fused filament fabrication [FFF] · CPC title

• B22F10/25

  Direct deposition of metal particles, e.g. direct metal deposition [DMD] or laser engineered net shaping [LENS] · CPC title

• B64D27/402

  comprising box like supporting frames, e.g. pylons or arrangements for embracing the power plant · CPC title