Conductive bonded/bolted joint seals for composite aircraft

摘要

In a composite aircraft formed of graphite reinforced epoxy plates forming walls (14, 16) of the aircraft and walls of fuel tanks (12) therein, for example, there is an adhesive seal (36) for bonding overlapping faying plate surfaces together. The seal (36) is formed of spaced glass fibers (58) impregnated with a resin and with a filler of conductive material (50). The conductive filler is carbon in the form of approximate microspheres (52, 54), generally hollow, and having diameters in the range of 5 to 150 microns. The resin is cured on the faying surfaces after they have been secured together by fasteners (28) coated with a dielectric (30). The carbon microspheres (50) function to weaken the adhesive seal (36) between the plates (16, 22) so that they can be forcibly separated without structural damage to the plates. The conductive material (50) equalizes negative and positive static charges in the aircraft, particularly in fuel tanks, to eliminate electrical potential differences in the wall structures and in the materials therein.