Mandrel for forming a composite panel of varied thickness

Abstract

Abstract A varied thickness laminate or panel (92, 128) is fabricated by polar winding incomplete lamina or plies (54, 146, 148) on a mandrel (10, 110, 130) at selected angles. The plies (54) are wound at crossing angles, first one layer (60) at one angle and then a second layer (64) at a second angle. At the most remote crossing point from a wide starting end (32), a V (66) is formed between the crossing plies (60, 64) and in the space (62) formed by the V (66), no plies extend on the mandrel side (30). Thus, the winding on each side (30) is incomplete, a space (62) between successive V's (66, 154, 164, 174) being skipped by steps of the crossing plies. The first V (66) starts a taper from wide starting end (32) to narrow other end (34). Successive plies are wound around the mandrel from the polar ends (48, 50, 134), each successive set forming a V so as to thicken the windings in steps formed by the V's. The mandrel (10, 110) preferably has an even number of sides (30) to provide an outside shape that approximates a cylinder. The wide and narrow ends (32, 34) are reversed circumferentially around the mandrel. The polar skip winding of filaments or tapes (54) makes possible the development of tapered cantilevered structural parts (92, 128) having a high strength-to-weight ratio.

Inventors

• 👤 Maurice E. McKinney

Bibliographic Details