ROOT PADS FOR COMPOSITE BLADES

摘要

A composite filament reinforced rotor blade having a splayed root construction is provided with a pad on each side of the blade in the area of transition between the airfoil portion and root portion of the blade. The pad is designed to be wedged between the blade and its corresponding disc slot during rotor operation and to transmit blade centrifugal forces from the blade to the disc in such a manner so as to produce a compressive force on the surface of the blade in the transition area for preventing delamination of the filaments within the blade. In one embodiment of this invention, the pads on either side of the blade are connected by a flexible band closely fitting along the underside of the root portion to prevent metallic wedge-shaped inserts, which are sometimes used in the root, from being expelled therefrom.