Abstract:
Fiber-reinforced ceramic honeycomb is prepared by impregnating a high-temperature fiber, notably fibers of ceramic materials such as silicates, aluminosilicates, aluminates and silicon carbides, with a liquid solution or suspension of a ceramic precursor material, followed by forming the impregnated fiber into corrugated strips, assembling the strips into the honeycomb structure, then heating the strips to form the ceramic. Multiple impregnations with intervening heating are useful in controlling the density and quality of the product.
Abstract:
A matrix resin system, for the preparation of composite parts, is comprised of a major amount of cyanate resin and an epoxy resin modified by reaction with an isocyanate. The resin system can be toughened by the addition of thermoplastic material, the toughness improvement being enhanced by the addition of a polyester rubber additive. The modified epoxy resin system is itself a resin having good modulus and Tg characteristics. The resin is cured at temperatures of 250-400°F in the presence of a metallic complex catalyst, and OH donor.
Abstract:
A composite tooling part having excellent dimensional stability, which may be prepared at low cost employs a one-component epoxy resin system having a catalyst which is the reaction product of an aromatic dicyanate and an imidazole. Reinforcing materials are incorporated in the matrix, and the resulting prepreg is allowed to cure at low temperature, down to about room temperature, until the free standing state is obtained. Thereafter, if elevated temperature performance is necessary, the product can be post-cured at elevated temperatures, without the need for a high temperature master.
Abstract:
A formable honeycomb panel (10) is disclosed that comprises a core layer (12) and two skin panels (14, 16) of sheet material bonded to opposite sides of the core layer (12). At least one of the skin panels is porous and has an effective stiffness that is substantially less than the stiffness of a solid sheet of material of the same thickness. The stiffness of the pourous skin panel (16) is sufficiently low so that bending of the honeycom panel (10) is accommodated primarily by deformation of the porous skin panel (16) before the core layer (12) collapses or the adhesive bonds between the core layer (12) and the skin panels (14, 16) fail.
Abstract:
Reinforced concrete columns wherein the exterior surface of the concrete column is wrapped with a composite reinforcement layer. The composite reinforcement layer includes at least one fabric layer which is located within a resin matrix. The fabric layer has first and second parallel selvedges which extend around the circumferential outer surface of the column in a direction substantially perpendicular to the column axis. Specific weave patterns are disclosed. The composite reinforcement layer provides a quick, simple and effective means for increasing the resistance of concrete columns to failure during the application of asymmetric loads.
Abstract:
High strength foam-filled materials (10) and methods for their production are disclosed. The high strength materials (10) include cellular structures comprising a plurality of open-ended cells (12, 14, 16, 18) containing polycyanurate foam (22). The polycyanurate foam-filled cellular structures have synergistically high mechanical properties and improved resistance to moisture. When cyanate ester foamable precursors in the form of tough films are foamed to fill honeycomb cells, the resulting foam-filled honeycomb has uniformly fine foam cell structure and improved bonding between the foam and the honeycomb.
Abstract:
Honeycomb fabricated of non-crosslinked polymer is prepared by impregnating a fiber web with a linear prepolymer which is soluble in an organic solvent, and which is readily converted by thermal curing in the absence of a crosslinking agent to an insoluble form with a glass transition temperature exceeding 200 DEG C, preferably exceeding 250 DEG C. The preferred prepolymer is the product of diaminodiphenylsulfone and trimellitic anhydride, and forms a poly(amide-imide) upon cure. A process for forming the impregnated honeycomb is also disclosed, which involves impregnating ribbons or sheets, forming them into stacks bonded together at node lines, expanding the stacks into honeycomb structures, and heat soaking the expanded structures to cure the resin and stabilize the structure.
Abstract:
Thermosetting resins for use in high performance fiber-reinforced composites are toughened without compromising their processibility by the inclusion of micron-sized particles of thermoplastic material which are solid at ambient temperatures but solubilize in the resins at a temperature below the gel temperature of the thermosetting resin. By appropriate selection of the solubilization temperature (or temperature range) of the thermoplastic material, one achieves a composite product having intralaminar or interlaminar toughness emphasized, or a combination of both. The invention is of particular utility when applied to bismaleimide resin systems.
Abstract:
Plastic foam materials having a high degree of structural integrity, cell network uniformity and small cell size are obtained from (meth)acrylic acid and (meth)acrylonitrile by incorporating acrylamide as a comonomer additive within certain ranges of concentration. Incorporation of the latter together with conventional additives normally used in preparing foams from the principal monomers helps to avoid preliminary precipitation during the polymerization process, and the gradients in the polymer microstructure which frequently result and cause internal stresses and weaknesses in the ultimate product.
Abstract:
A multiple-end weft-insertion process which is capable of achieving extremely high yarn density which is uniform in plys of structural fabrics is disclosed, making use of conventional machinery and systems. Yarn (104) is transferred from a shuttle (100) to yarn transfer elements (108) spaced a sufficient distance apart to avoid damage to the yarn, and then transferred to yarn holding elements (110). Each successive pass of the shuttle is adjusted by moving the yarn transfer element parallel to the holding elements, so as to overlap each band deposited by the shuttle. The amount of movement necessary to achieve any desired density is calculated according to established parameters.