Patent ID: 9545989
Date: 2017-01-17
CPC Classifications: B64C

Claim:
1. An aircraft fuselage structure, comprising: a reinforcing circumferential frame having a curved portion with a concave face and an opposite convex face; a plurality of stringers substantially perpendicular to said circumferential frame, wherein said circumferential frame comprises a mechanically weakened area that causes a localized buckling of the frame under the effect of a compressive force exerted on said frame in the circumferential direction; and an energy absorbing device comprising i) a first effector member and a second effector member, each of the first effector member and the second effector member being secured to the curved portion of said circumferential frame respectively on either side of the weakened area with the first effector member secured to the curved portion of said circumferential frame at a first side of the weakened area, and the second effector member secured to the curved portion of said circumferential frame at a second side of the weakened area, opposite said first side, and ii) a central core maintained between said first and second effector members such that a reduction in a distance between said first and second effector members produces a deformation of said central core, with said central core absorbing energy under an effect of said deformation, wherein the central core is held blocked between first and second effector members, each of the first and second effectors members being comprised of a rigid plate, each rigid plate facing a respective longitudinal extremity face of the central core.