Patent ID: 8875931

Claim:
A tank comprising a cylindrical wall section, the wall section comprising a composite sandwich shell edge joint comprising: a composite outboard buildup pad; a composite inboard buildup pad spaced-apart and adjacent to the outboard buildup pad; bridging plies positioned between the composite outboard buildup pad and the composite inboard buildup pad to couple the composite outboard buildup pad and the composite inboard buildup pad, the composite outboard buildup pad having: a first portion having a planar tapering thickness tapering in a first direction away from the bridging plies and towards a first peripheral edge of the composite outboard buildup pad; and a second portion having a planar tapering thickness tapering in a second direction away from the bridging plies and towards a second peripheral edge of the composite outboard buildup pad, the first direction being different than the second direction; and a barrel nut installed in the composite inboard and outboard buildup pads, wherein the composite inboard buildup pad includes: a third portion having a planar tapering thickness tapering in the first direction away from the bridging plies and towards a third peripheral edge of the composite inboard buildup pad; and a fourth portion having a planar tapering thickness tapering in the second direction away from the bridging plies and towards a fourth peripheral edge of the composite inboard buildup pad.