Insert designed to be fitted on a support, including a body extending along a longitudinal axis and a base including at least one plate extending along a base plane, at least one through hole oriented along an orientation axis perpendicular to the base plane being formed in said at least one plate, at least one protuberance being formed on a first surface of said at least one plate and forming a hollow on a second surface of said at least one plate.

The present invention is a laminate sheet having two laminae. The first lamina is a relatively hard material having first and second surfaces. The first surface has a plurality of raised and generally pointed piercing structures, each structure having a tip. The second lamina is graphite foil material, which is mated to the relatively hard material, such that at least some of the piercing structures pierce the graphite foil material. In one embodiment, the first lamina has no performations and is uniformly smooth. In another embodiment, the second surface also has a plurality of piercing structures and a third lamina comprising graphite foil is mated to the second surface.

It has been difficult to achieve weight reduction while satisfying a required insulation property in a heat insulating material configured by alternately stacking a metal vapor-deposited sheet and a net. A heat insulating sheet comprises: a first thermal conduction suppressing layer that suppresses thermal conduction; a first radiant heat reflecting layer that is placed on one surface side of the first thermal conduction suppressing layer and reflects radiant heat; and a protruding portion protruding from a surface of the first radiant heat reflecting layer on an opposite side of a surface on which the first thermal conduction suppressing layer is stacked, the protruding portion containing a resin at least on its surface.

A laminate web having a polymer film layer and a nonwoven layer is disclosed. The polymer film layer makes up a first side of the laminate web and the nonwoven layer makes up a second side of the laminate web. The laminate web has a plurality of first elements extending from the polymer film. The web also has a plurality of second elements formed outwardly from the first side of the laminate web.

A metallic foil for lightning strike protection in a composite aerospace structure having a length, a width, and a thickness of not more than 30 microns. There are a plurality of pores of a predefined geometric shape extending through the thickness of the metallic foil and being distributed across a surface area defined by the length and the width of the metallic foil. The plurality of pores in the aggregate define an open area of not more than 40% of the surface area and the metallic foil has a weight of not more than 115 g/m.sup.2. The metallic foil has a weight to conductivity ratio of not more than 0.40 gram-ohms per square.

A hierarchical sandwich core in the form of a honeycomb, i.e. having repetitive and periodic lattice materials. The sandwich core can be made up of a macroscopic honeycomb structure with sandwich cell walls having a mesoscopic cellular core. The longitudinal axis of cells of the mesoscopic honeycomb cell can be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cells of the macroscopic honeycomb structure. Alternatively, if a foam core is used having mesoscopic cells the shape of the mesoscopic cells can be made during the foaming process so that they are elongate in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cells of the macroscopic honeycomb structure.

A composite skin is attached to an underlying structure by fasteners that are countersunk into the structure. The composite skin comprises a thermoplastic material that has been melted and formed into a countersink in the structure using a heated tool.

The assembly consists of at least one metal insert and one reinforcing sheet. The reinforcing sheet contains reinforcing fibers longer than or equal in length to one centimeter. The metal insert comprises protrusions shaped to traverse the sheet, passing between the reinforcing fibers, and to fold by plastic deformation, enclosing the reinforcing fibers when said protrusions are subjected to a longitudinal compression force.

A laminate web having a polymer film layer and a nonwoven layer is disclosed. The polymer film layer makes up a first side of the laminate web and the nonwoven layer makes up a second side of the laminate web. The laminate web has a plurality of first elements extending from the polymer film. The web also has a plurality of second elements such as recesses, protrusions, apertures, embossing and combinations thereof.

A breathable and waterproof composite fabric includes: a fabric sheet having opposite first and second surfaces and defining a plurality of micropores extending through the first and second surfaces; and a waterproof plastic film of a non-porous material that is bonded to the first surface of the fabric sheet, that conforms to the first surface of the fabric sheet, and that is perforated to form a plurality of hollow protrusions extending into the micropores, respectively. The plastic film has inner and outer surfaces. The inner surface is in contact with the first surface of the fabric sheet. Each of the hollow protrusions defines a channel that extends through the inner and outer surfaces for imparting breathability to the plastic film.