A method of manufacturing a composite aerofoil, in particular a winglet, and a composite aerofoil are provided. A method of manufacturing an aerofoil comprises the steps of forming a stiffened first cover layup 33 in a first resin transfer mould tool (44, fig 6), the first cover layup comprising of plies of fibre reinforcing material and at least one stiffener preform 36, 37, 58, closing the first mould tool, filling the first mould cavity with liquid plastics matrix by injection, applying heat to cure the first cover layup, forming a second cover layup (43, fig 5) of plies of reinforcing fibre material on a second mould tool, introducing plastics matrix material to the second cover layup and curing, assembling the first and second covers. The matrix material may be introduced to the second cover layup by resin transfer moulding within a closed mould tool. The second cover layup may be combined with at least one stiffener preform. The at least one stiffener preform may include forming at least one preform from the group: ribs, spars and stringers. The method may include the step of forming a said preform around a rectangular mandrel by alternately wrapping sheets of fibre reinforcing material from opposing sides of the mandrel to extend across two adjoining sides thereof such that each sheet forms a C shape when wrapped around the mandrel. Each C shape sheet may overlap a sheet wrapped from an opposing side of the mandrel. A fibre reinforced composite comprises a stiffened first cover and a second cover attached to the first cover, the stiffened first cover being manufactured by RTM and having at least one stiffener for the cover selected from the group: ribs, spars, stringers formed integrally therewith.
Aerofoil Manufacture
2019-10-30
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
Aerofoil Manufacture for the Amateur Racer
British Library Online Contents | 1998
The manufacture of aerofoil models by tangent plane milling
TIBKAT | 1954
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