Patent ID: 8156711

Claim:
An internal stiffening member for use in supporting a thin-walled structural skin comprising: a web portion; a peripheral flange having a thickness, the peripheral flange disposed about the periphery of the web portion, such that the structural skin completely surrounds the peripheral flange; a channel in the peripheral flange, the channel having a recessed channel surface which is recessed into the peripheral flange so as to define a channel depth therebetween; a recessed slot in an interior surface of the thin-walled structural skin, the recessed slot having a recessed slot surface which is recessed into the thin-walled structural skin so as to define a slot depth therebetween, such that the channel depth does not exceed the peripheral flange thickness; and a filler material disposed in the channel of the peripheral flange and in the recessed slot in the interior surface of the thin-walled structural skin, the filler material being configured as a lock between the flange and the interior surface of the thin-walled structural skin, so as to limit a longitudinal movement of the internal stiffening member relative to the thin-walled structural skin, the longitudinal movement being a direction approximately perpendicular to the web portion; wherein the internal stiffening member supports the structural skin primarily in a compression-only load path; wherein the thin-walled structural skin and the internal stiffening member form an aircraft structure; wherein an interior of the thin-walled structural skin forms an at least partially hollow space; wherein the filler material acts to retain the internal stiffening member within the thin-walled structural skin.