METHODS FOR FORMING A COMPOSITE BLADE STIFFENER AND FACILITATING APPLICATION OF BARELY VISIBLE IMPACT DAMAGE TREATMENTS

摘要

An example method for forming a flat composite charge into a compositeblade stiffener includes cutting a flat composite charge along a cut line intoa firstpiece and a second piece having an angle, positioning the first piece and thesecondpiece of the flat composite charge on a forming mandrel about a toolingplunger,activating the tooling plunger to drive the first piece and the second pieceinto acavity of the forming mandrel resulting in the first piece and the secondpiece foldingat the cut line, withdrawing the tooling plunger from the cavity of theformingmandrel, compressing the forming mandrel to apply a lateral pressure to thefirstpiece and the second piece folded into the cavity, and applying a verticalpressure toa first flange and a second flange of the first piece and the second piece,respectively, to form the composite blade stiffener.