Method of fabricating a spar for a blade, a method of fabricating a blade, and a blade

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9932109-B2
Application number	US-201514799934-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 15, 2015
Priority date	Jul 18, 2014
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

A method of fabricating a blade spar that includes transversely at least one arrangement. A pressure-side mold and a suction-side mold are defined for each arrangement that is to be fabricated. Each mold includes at least one removable slide and a base. Each slide is then removed from a mold and the tape segments of a hank are laid by a fiber-placement method on each mold. Each mold is closed by putting the slides into place on the mold. During a finalizing step, the molds are juxtaposed and the spar is heated.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating a spar of a blade from tapes of composite materials, the spar comprising transversely at least one arrangement, each arrangement suitable for being disposed about a root axis, the method comprising the following steps:
during a preparation step, defining a pressure-side mold and a suction-side mold for each arrangement that is to be fabricated, each mold comprising a base extending longitudinally in the span direction of the spar and defining a laying surface that includes:
a root zone having a root wall, the root wall forming two flanks;
a connection zone presenting two sloping connection walls forming a substantially upside-down V-shape and connected respectively to the two flanks; and
a running zone presenting two running walls respectively extending the two connection walls;
during a fabrication step, for each arrangement being subdivided into a pressure-side subassembly and a suction-side subassembly, each subassembly having a respective hank, each hank comprising a plurality of substantially U-shaped tape segments stacked on one another, each mold having at least one lateral removable slide defining the mold transversely by extending vertically from the base, and/or at least one longitudinal removable slide defining the mold longitudinally by extending vertically from the base:
removing each slide from each mold;
fabricating the pressure-side subassembly and the suction-side subassembly of an arrangement respectively on the pressure-side mold and on the suction-side mold corresponding to the arrangement, each subassembly being fabricated by stacking tape segments on the corresponding mold by a method of placing fibers with the help of a placement head, the placement head laying the segment on the laying surface of the mold; and
closing each mold by putting each slide of the mold into place, and juxtaposing the molds in order to form a closed enclosure in which the subassemblies are to be found; and

during a finalizing step, heating the spar within the juxtaposed molds.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one mold includes a removable core resting on a seat of the mold in order to embody the base, at least in part.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein at least one mold has a base provided with a seat and a non-removable core of the spar, the non-removable core being constituted by a fastener bushing, a root wedge surrounding the fastener bushing and filler material of the spar.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein, prior to juxtaposing the molds, at least one piece of internal equipment of the spar is placed in at least one mold.

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the spar has a trailing edge arrangement and a leading edge arrangement, and:
during the preparation step, a leading-edge pressure-side mold and a leading-edge suction-side mold and a trailing-edge pressure-side mold and a trailing-edge suction-side mold are defined; and
during the finalizing step, the leading-edge pressure-side mold is juxtaposed laterally with the trailing-edge pressure-side mold, the leading-edge suction-side mold is juxtaposed laterally with the trailing-edge suction-side mold, the trailing-edge pressure-side mold is juxtaposed in elevation with the trailing-edge suction-side mold, and the leading-edge suction-side mold is juxtaposed in elevation with the leading-edge pressure-side mold.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the root axis is a vertical axis substantially orthogonal to a plane in which the spar extends in span, and the substantially V-shaped flattens on going away from the root zone.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the root axis is a vertical axis substantially orthogonal to a plane in which the spar extends in span, and during fabrication of a subassembly, the placement head winds each tape segment of the subassembly around a root axis by laying the segment on the laying surface of the mold.

8. A method of fabricating a blade, the method comprising the following steps:
fabricating a spar by applying the method according to claim 1 ;
fabricating an overall mold for the blade;
arranging the spar in the overall mold; and
arranging the overall mold in heater means for finalizing the blade by heating it.

9. A blade having at least one spar, the spar including an arrangement suitable for being disposed about a fastener bushing, the arrangement comprising a pressure-side subassembly and a suction-side subassembly, the arrangement extending spanwise to comprise in succession a root zone at the fastener bushing, a connection zone, and then a running zone, wherein a cross-section of the arrangement in the connection zone is substantially X-shaped, the pressure-side subassembly having a substantially upside-down V-shape and the suction-side subassembly having a substantially rightway-up V-shape in the connection section; and
wherein each root section of the arrangement in the root zone comprises at least one rectangular slab extending lengthwise in elevation.

10. A blade according to claim 9 , wherein each running section of the arrangement in the running zone comprises at least one slab extending transversely lengthwise.

Assignees

• Airbus Helicopters

Inventors

• Amari Andre
• Gaffiero Jacques

Classifications

• B64C27/473 Primary

  Constructional features · CPC title

• B29L2031/082

  Blades, e.g. for helicopters · CPC title

• B29L2031/08

  Blades for rotors, stators, fans, turbines or the like, e.g. screw propellers · CPC title

• B29K2705/00

  Use of metals, their alloys or their compounds, for preformed parts, e.g. for inserts · CPC title

• B29D99/0025

  Producing blades or the like, e.g. blades for turbines, propellers, or wings · CPC title