US Patent 9975309 Adjustable insert for sandwich structures

An insert for use in a sandwich-type structure, such as a honeycomb panel, is provided that includes a plug and a sleeve. The sleeve includes a plurality of resilient beams, and when the plug is inserted into the sleeve, the resilient beams are elastically deflected by an exterior surface of a wall of the plug such that the insert is adjustable in height and can be positioned properly in an axial/insertion direction to accommodate sandwich-type structures of varying thickness. The result is an insert that maintains a flush profile with both opposing face sheets of the sandwich-type structure, thus reducing discontinuities in surface profile of the overall assembly.