Ducted fan assembly with material-filled cavity in leading edge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022099110-A1
Application number	US-202017037190-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 29, 2020
Priority date	Sep 29, 2020
Publication date	Mar 31, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

In an embodiment, a ducted fan assembly includes a housing that further includes a rotor. The ducted fan assembly also includes a rim that extends around at least a portion of a perimeter of the ducted fan assembly, where the rim defines an opening surrounding at least a portion of the housing. The ducted fan assembly also includes a skin that is attached to the rim and extends around the at least a portion of the perimeter of the ducted fan assembly to form a leading edge of the ducted fan assembly, the skin and the rim creating a cavity therebetween. The cavity is at least partially filled with a material to absorb energy from an impact of the skin with a foreign object.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A ducted fan assembly comprising:
a housing comprising a rotor; a rim that extends around at least a portion of a perimeter of the ducted fan assembly, wherein the rim defines an opening surrounding at least a portion of the housing; a skin that is attached to the rim and extends around the at least a portion of the perimeter of the ducted fan assembly to form a leading edge of the ducted fan assembly, the skin and the rim creating a cavity therebetween; and wherein the cavity is at least partially filled with a material to absorb energy from an impact of the skin with a foreign object.

2 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein the material makes contact with the skin and provides structural support for the skin.

3 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein the skin is configured to at least one of deform and break upon impact with a foreign object.

4 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein the material conforms to a shape of the cavity.

5 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 4 , wherein the material comprises an orifice configured to provide a deflection point for the leading edge.

6 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 5 , wherein the material is at least partially formed from rubber.

7 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a honeycomb core.

8 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 6 , wherein the honeycomb core comprises an array of hollow cells, wherein at least some of the hollow cells in the array have a point that is oriented in a direction of the leading edge.

9 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a lattice structure that varies in density throughout the cavity.

10 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein a density of the lattice structure progressively increases from the skin to the rim.

11 . The ducted fan assembly of claim 1 , wherein the material comprises foam.

12 . A rotorcraft comprising a plurality of fan assemblies, each fan assembly comprising:
a housing comprising a rotor; a rim that extends around at least a portion of a perimeter of the fan assembly, wherein the rim defines an opening surrounding at least a portion of the housing; a skin that is attached to the rim and extends around the at least a portion of the perimeter of the fan assembly to form a leading edge of the fan assembly, the skin and the rim creating a cavity therebetween; and wherein the cavity is at least partially filled with a material to absorb energy from an impact of the skin with a foreign object.

13 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein one or more of the plurality of fan assemblies are ducted fan assemblies.

14 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein the rotorcraft is a tiltrotor aircraft and the plurality of fan assemblies rotate between an airplane mode and a helicopter mode.

15 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein, for at least one of the plurality of fan assemblies, the material conforms to a shape of the cavity and provides structural support for the skin.

16 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein, for at least one of the plurality of fan assemblies, the skin is configured to at least one of deform and break upon impact with a foreign object.

17 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein, for at least one of the plurality of fan assemblies, the material comprises an orifice configured to provide a deflection point for the leading edge.

18 . The rotorcraft of claim 17 , wherein, for at least one of the plurality of fan assemblies, the material is at least partially formed from rubber.

19 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein, for at least one of the plurality of fan assemblies, the material comprises a honeycomb core including an array of hollow cells, at least some of the hollow cells in the array having a point that is oriented in a direction of the leading edge.

20 . The rotorcraft of claim 12 , wherein, for at least one of the plurality of fan assemblies, the material comprises a lattice structure, wherein a density of the lattice structure progressively increases from the skin to the rim.

Assignees

• Bell Textron Inc

Inventors

• Carr Timothy Brian
• Amante William Anthony

Classifications

• F05D2300/431

  Rubber · CPC title

• B64C11/001

  Shrouded propellers · CPC title

• B64C29/0033 Primary

  the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage · CPC title

• F04D29/023

  especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F05D2250/283

  honeycomb · CPC title