APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD OF JOINING STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS WITH A TAPERED TENSION BOND JOINT

摘要

A system of composite and adhesive materials provides for a high strength, producible closeout joint in the form of tapered tension bond joint for high performance structures. The system includes one skin that is co-bonded to flat panel spars, with the joint being positioned at the opposite side of the spars. The spar includes a female receptacle that receives a male blade from the closeout skin assembly. The flat panel spars have imbedded nut elements in the blade that serve as "internal tooling" to provide a positive stop for locating and clamping the lower skin. The disruption of the blade by the imbedded nuts gives the final assembled structure a very significantly enhanced ballistics survivability. The nuts act to stop cracks formed in the structure when the structure is impacted. A very significant amount of tolerance is allowed between the blade and the receptacle to further reduce cost.