Inflatable deployable control structures for aerospace vehicles

Details Inflatable deployable control structures for aerospace vehicles Inflatable deployable control structures for aerospace vehicles

1995-10-13

1997-10-28

Kashnikow, Andres

Aeronautics and astronautics

Aircraft sustentation

Sustaining airfoils

244117R, 244100A, B64C 356

Patent

active

056810105

ABSTRACT:
The invention discloses a deployable, inflatable aerodynamic control structure for aerospace vehicles which has a desired noncircular or noncylindrical cross-section and fabrication methods therefor. In a preferred embodiment, the control structure is configured as an inflatable airfoil and includes a flexible skin and a plurality of internally disposed airfoil-shaped bulkheads or integral rib members that are arranged, spaced apart, in cross-wise fashion along the axial length of the airfoil shaped control structure. The flexible skin is fabricated as a lay up, in ordered sequence, of plural layers of elastomeric rubber material and plural ply layers of resin-impregnated yarns or fabric. The result is a fiber-reinforced pressure membrane that is flexible and compactly foldable. Rib-to-skin cloth attachments are provided to secure the airfoil-shaped integral rib members to the flexible skin whereby one end of each rib-to-skin cloth attachment penetrates the flexible skin being cured in place between elastomeric layers of the filament-reinforced pressure membrane to provide a seamless airtight sealed connection. The number and spacing of the integral rib members determine the amount of deviation from a perfect airfoil structure that is allowed, since the flexible skin will have a tendency to bulge outwardly at regions between adjacent airfoil-shaped integral rib members.

REFERENCES:
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patent: 3106373 (1963-10-01), Bain et al.
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patent: 3463420 (1969-08-01), Butler et al.
patent: 4024679 (1977-05-01), Rain et al.

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