SPLICE JOINTS FOR COMPOSITE AIRCRAFT FUSELAGES AND OTHER STRUCTURES

摘要

Structures and methods for joining composite fuselage sections and other panel assemblies together are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a shell structure configured in accordance, with the present invention includes a first panel portion (210a) positioned adjacent to a second panel portion (210b). The first panel portion (210a) can include a first stiffener (214a-214e) attached to a first composite skin (112a) , and the second panel portion (210b) can include a second stiffener (214i-214j) attached to a second composite skin (112b). The shell structure can further include a fitting (230) extending across a first edge region of the first panel portion (210a) and a second edge region of the second panel portion (210b). A first end portion (232a) of the fitting (230) can be attached to the first stiffener (214a-214e) and the first composite skin (112a), and a second end portion (232b) of the fitting (230) can be attached to a second stiffener (214i-214j) and a second composite skin (112b), to join the first panel portion (210a) to the second panel portion (210b) .