ASSEMBLY OF A LONGITUDINAL MEMBER OF A WING AND AN ENGINE PYLON WHICH ARE HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER

An assembly comprising a longitudinal member of an aircraft wing, where the longitudinal member has a contact wall which is penetrated by first bores, each passing through the contact wall parallel to a longitudinal direction, an engine pylon which is arranged at the end of the longitudinal member in the longitudinal direction and having an upper longitudinal member which, for each first bore, is penetrated by a second bore which is aligned with the first bore, and a nut and a screw for each pair of a first bore and a second bore, which are aligned, where the screw is screwed into the nut successively via the first bore and the second bore, sandwiching the upper longitudinal member and the contact wall.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of French Patent Application Number 2309134 filed on Aug. 31, 2023, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by way of reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an assembly of a longitudinal member of an aircraft wing with an engine pylon which are horizontally aligned with one another and where the fixing is provided by horizontal screw-nut systems. The present invention also relates to an aircraft comprising such an assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An aircraft conventionally comprises at least one engine, in particular a turbojet engine. The aircraft comprises an engine pylon below each wing and for each engine, said engine pylon being fixed to the structure of the wing and the engine being suspended below the engine pylon.

Conventionally, the engine pylon is arranged below the wing and is fixed thereto by various fixing means.

In order to gain efficiency, engines are becoming increasingly large and the positioning of the engine pylon below the wing limits the possibilities for increasing the size, since the engine has to maintain a minimum distance relative to the ground.

It is thus desirable to find a novel arrangement which makes it possible to gain space in the region of the joint between the engine pylon and the wing, in order to lift up the engine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A subject of the present invention is to propose an assembly of a longitudinal member of an aircraft wing with an engine pylon which provides a reduction in the height of the assembly. To this end, an assembly for an aircraft comprising a wing is proposed, said assembly comprising:

a longitudinal member of the wing, where the longitudinal member has a contact wall which is penetrated by a plurality of first bores, each passing through the contact wall and parallel to a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the contact wall,

an engine pylon which is arranged at the end of the longitudinal member in the longitudinal direction and having an upper longitudinal member which is generally perpendicular to the contact wall and which is penetrated, for each first bore, by a second bore which is parallel to the longitudinal direction and aligned with the first bore, and

a nut and a screw for each pair of a first bore and a second bore which are aligned, where the screw is screwed into the nut successively via the first bore and the second bore, sandwiching the upper longitudinal member and the contact wall.

Such an assembly makes it possible to reduce the height of the assembly and the horizontal orientation of the screw-nut systems ensures that it works only under tension.

Advantageously, the engine pylon comprises a lateral wall on either side of the upper longitudinal member, and the assembly comprises two shear pins, one thereof being inserted into a first hole of the contact wall and a second hole of a lateral wall, and the other thereof being inserted into a first hole of the contact wall and a second hole of the other lateral wall.

Advantageously, the shear pins are mounted so as to be tightened in the corresponding holes and the screws are mounted with clearance in the corresponding bores.

Advantageously, the assembly comprises an intermediate wall which is arranged between the contact wall and the upper longitudinal member and, for each screw, the intermediate wall is passed through by an intermediate bore which is passed through by the screw and, when shear pins are present, for each shear pin the intermediate wall is passed through by an intermediate hole which is passed through by the shear pin.

Advantageously, the upper longitudinal member is penetrated by at least one third bore which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in which the second bore opens out, and the nut is a barrel nut housed in the third bore.

The invention further proposes an aircraft comprising a wing and an assembly according to one of the preceding variants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, terms which relate to a position are taken to refer to an aircraft in the position of forward travel, i.e. as shown inFIG.1where the arrow F represents the direction of forward travel.

FIG.1shows an aircraft100which has a fuselage102, a wing108being arranged on either side thereof and an engine105, in particular a turbojet engine, being fixed there below by means of a engine pylon104which in turn is fixed to the wing108.

In the following description and for the sake of convention, X refers to the longitudinal direction of the engine pylon104oriented positively in the direction of forward travel of the aircraft100and generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft100, Y refers to the transverse direction of the engine pylon104which is horizontal when the aircraft100is on the ground, and Z refers to the vertical direction or vertical height when the aircraft100is on the ground, these three directions X, Y and Z being at right-angles to one another.

In the embodiment of the invention shown inFIG.1, the aircraft100comprises an engine105below each wing108of the aircraft100, but it is possible to provide a plurality of engines105below each wing108.

The wing108comprises, amongst other things, longitudinal members106which extend parallel to the longitudinal direction X. The longitudinal member106of the wing108has a contact wall106awhich extends in a plane generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X.

FIG.2shows a first embodiment of an assembly250between a longitudinal member106of the wing108and the engine pylon204andFIGS.3and4show a second embodiment of an assembly350between a longitudinal member106of the wing108and the engine pylon304. The difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is in the shape of the upper longitudinal member204a,304aof the engine pylon204,304and the fixing thereof to the longitudinal member106of the wing108.

The engine pylon204,304takes the form of a box which in this case comprises an upper longitudinal member204a,304a, a lower longitudinal member204b,304band two lateral walls204c-d,304c-d. The various walls and the longitudinal members are fixed to one another so as to form a box, the vertical section thereof being generally trapezoidal. Each longitudinal member204a-b,304a-band each lateral wall204c-d,304c-dextend in a plane which is generally parallel to the longitudinal direction X, i.e. generally perpendicular to the contact wall106a. The engine pylon204,304is generally symmetrical relative to a vertical median plane XZ.

The lateral walls204c-d,304c-dare arranged on either side of the upper longitudinal member204a,304a.

The contact wall106ais penetrated by a plurality of first bores401where each bore passes through the contact wall106aand is parallel to the longitudinal direction X, i.e. perpendicular to the contact wall106a.

The engine pylon204,304is arranged at the end of the longitudinal member106of the wing108, in the longitudinal direction X, i.e. in the extension of one another in the longitudinal direction X. The engine pylon204,304thus extends the longitudinal member106of the wing108in the longitudinal direction X.

For each first bore401, the upper longitudinal member204a,304ais penetrated by a second bore402which is also parallel to the longitudinal direction X and aligned with the first bore401in the assembled position.

In the first embodiment of the invention, the second bore402is produced in an angle piece210of the upper longitudinal member204a, where the angle piece210is parallel to the contact wall106a.

In the second embodiment of the invention, the second bore402is produced from a third bore308which is produced in the upper longitudinal member304aperpendicular to the longitudinal direction X. The second bore402thus opens out into the third bore308.

The third bore308opens out in the region of an upper face of the upper longitudinal member304aand is preferably blind.

In the same manner, the lateral walls204c-d,304c-dcomprise angle pieces212,312which are parallel to the contact wall106aand which are also passed through by second bores aligned with first bores of the contact wall106aparallel to the longitudinal direction X.

The fixing of the engine pylon204,304to the longitudinal member106of the wing108is provided by screw-nut systems. Thus the assembly250,350comprises a nut206,406and a screw208for each pair of a first bore401and a second bore402which are aligned. The screw208is screwed into the nut206,406successively through the first bore401of the contact wall106aand the second bore402of the upper longitudinal member204a,304a, sandwiching the upper longitudinal member204a,304aand the contact wall106abetween the head of the screw208and the nut206,406.

With such an arrangement, the height of the assembly is reduced due to the alignment of the longitudinal member106of the wing108and of the engine pylon204,304and due to its orientation parallel to the longitudinal direction X, and each screw-nut system works solely in tension, taking up the axial forces in the longitudinal direction X, such as thrust. The joint between the engine pylon204,304and the longitudinal member106of the wing108is thus implemented on a single interface plane, i.e. the plane of the contact wall106awhere the screw-nut systems are arranged so as to transmit the forces generated by the engine105to the wing108, while guaranteeing that the joint does not separate.

In the embodiments of the invention shown inFIGS.2and3, the assembly250,350also comprises a shear pin214,314which is arranged symmetrically on either side of the vertical median plane XZ and thus on each side of the upper longitudinal member204a,304a. Thus a shear pin214,314is present on the port side and a shear pin is present on the starboard side. Each shear pin214,314is also parallel to the longitudinal direction X.

FIG.5shows the longitudinal member106of the wing108and more particularly the contact wall106a. In this embodiment, there are eleven screw-nut systems with three in the region of the upper longitudinal member204a,304aand four for each lateral wall204c-d,304c-d. Each shear pin214,314is inserted into a first hole502a-bof the contact wall106a, namely a first hole502aon the port side and a first hole502bon the starboard side, and a second hole of a lateral wall204c-d,304c-dof the engine pylon204,304, here in an angle piece212,312of the lateral wall204c-d,304c-dunder consideration. The first hole502a-band the second hole which are associated with one another are aligned in the assembled position. The first holes502a-band the second holes are arranged on either side of the vertical median plane XZ.

Thus one shear pin214,314is inserted into a first hole502aof the contact wall106aand a second hole of a lateral wall204c-d,304c-dand a further shear pin214,314is inserted into a first hole502bof the contact wall106aand a second hole of the other lateral wall204d-c,304d-c.

The shear pins214,314take up the shear forces and the engine torque and are mounted so as to be tightened in the corresponding holes, while the screws208are mounted with clearance in the corresponding bores, including the intermediate hole and the intermediate bore410described below.

With such an arrangement, in the case of the rupture of a screw-nut system, the other screw-nut systems compensate therefor and ensure the transfer of axial forces, and in the case of the rupture of a shear pin214,314, the longitudinal member106of the wing108and the engine pylon204,304can pivot about the other shear pin314,214and the rotation is stopped by the screw-nut systems which thus transmit the axial forces as well as the shear forces and the engine torque.

In the embodiments of the invention shown inFIGS.2and3, the assembly250,350also comprises an intermediate wall110which is arranged between the contact wall106aand the upper longitudinal member204a,304a.

For each screw208, the intermediate wall110is passed through by an intermediate bore410which the screw208passes through.

When shear pins214,314are present, for each one thereof, the intermediate wall110is passed through by an intermediate hole which the shear pin214,314passes through. In the embodiment of the invention shown inFIG.3and inFIG.4, the nut406is a barrel nut which is housed in the third bore308in order to block the nut in rotation when the screw208is tightened.

With this particular arrangement, the thickness of the upper longitudinal member304ais increased since there is no need to provide space for the angle pieces210, which makes it possible to optimize the inertia of the engine pylon304in order to be able to pass larger forces into the engine pylon304.