An intermediate base material is provided that is excellent in the conformity to three-dimensional shapes and that, when formed into a fiber reinforced plastic, develops good surface quality and high mechanical properties.

According to one aspect, an incised prepreg is provided that has, in at least a partial region in a prepreg that contains unidirectionally oriented reinforcing fibers and a resin, a plurality of incisions that divide reinforcing fibers, wherein, in the case where a population is made up of the numbers of incisions contained in ten small circular regions of 10 mm in diameter randomly selected in the aforementioned region, a mean value for the population is 10 or greater and a coefficient of variation therefor is within 20%.

A system and method for producing bio composite materials by mixing pelletized plant fiber dust and virgin or recycled plastic. The system may comprise a reducer, a press, a dryer, a pelletizer, and a mixer. The reducer separates the fibers of the plant material and the press removes liquid from the separated fibers. The dryer further reduces the moisture content of the pressed fibers and generates dust which is extracted by sifting, screening, or another suitable method. The pelletizer compresses and/or treats the fiber dust with solutions, adhesives, or other processes that cause the fiber dust to adhere together. The fiber dust pellets are then mixed with virgin or recycled plastic to produce a bio composite material.

A system and method for producing bio composite materials by mixing pelletized plant fiber dust and virgin or recycled plastic. The system may comprise a reducer, a press, a dryer, a pelletizer, and a mixer. The reducer separates the fibers of the plant material and the press removes liquid from the separated fibers. The dryer further reduces the moisture content of the pressed fibers and generates dust which is extracted by sifting, screening, or another suitable method. The pelletizer compresses and/or treats the fiber dust with solutions, adhesives, or other processes that cause the fiber dust to adhere together. The fiber dust pellets are then mixed with virgin or recycled plastic to produce a bio composite material.

A reinforced fiber substrate in which a plurality of thermally fusible binders are disposed on a surface thereof, a sum of areas of thermally fusible binders having a projected area equivalent circle diameter less than 300 times the average diameter of reinforced fibers constituting the reinforced fiber substrate is 10% or less of the total area of the thermally fusible fibers disposed on the surface. The reinforced fiber substrate imparts excellent shape retaining property and property to be impregnated with a matrix resin to a shaping fabric and exhibits excellent productivity.

A reinforced fiber substrate in which a plurality of thermally fusible binders are disposed on a surface thereof, a sum of areas of thermally fusible binders having a projected area equivalent circle diameter less than 300 times the average diameter of reinforced fibers constituting the reinforced fiber substrate is 10% or less of the total area of the thermally fusible fibers disposed on the surface. The reinforced fiber substrate imparts excellent shape retaining property and property to be impregnated with a matrix resin to a shaping fabric and exhibits excellent productivity.

A fiber-reinforced plastic producing method capable of easily producing a fiber-reinforced plastic in which swelling and warpage are less likely to occur and of which excellent mechanical characteristics and isotropy are ensured, and a fiber-reinforced plastic in which swelling and warpage are suppressed from occurring. The fiber-reinforced plastic producing method has a step for obtaining a material (A) including a prepreg base material in which a region (B), where reinforcing fibers pulled and aligned in one direction are impregnated with a matrix resin and a plurality of cuts (b) are formed, and a region (C), where a plurality of cuts (c) are formed, are alternately formed in a direction orthogonal to a fiber axis of the reinforcing fiber, a step for hot-pressing the material (A) while moving the material (A) under specific conditions, and a step for cooling the pressed material (A) to obtain the fiber-reinforced plastic.

A manufacturing arrangement for the manufacture of rotor blade, including a pair of tracks arranged along the longitudinal side of a blade mold, a first gantry assembly realized to span the track pair and to carry a first tool arrangement including at least a fiber distributor for distributing a fiber material into the blade mold, a second gantry assembly realized to span the track pair and to carry a second tool arrangement including at least a handling tool for handling a cover sheet for the fiber distributor, which cover sheet is realized to apply pressure to the distributed fiber material, and a control arrangement realized to effect a coordinated movement of the gantry assemblies along the track pair and to coordinate the operation of the second tool arrangement with the operation of the first tool arrangement, is provided.

A manufacturing arrangement for the manufacture of rotor blade, including a pair of tracks arranged along the longitudinal side of a blade mold, a first gantry assembly realized to span the track pair and to carry a first tool arrangement including at least a fiber distributor for distributing a fiber material into the blade mold, a second gantry assembly realized to span the track pair and to carry a second tool arrangement including at least a handling tool for handling a cover sheet for the fiber distributor, which cover sheet is realized to apply pressure to the distributed fiber material, and a control arrangement realized to effect a coordinated movement of the gantry assemblies along the track pair and to coordinate the operation of the second tool arrangement with the operation of the first tool arrangement, is provided.

This invention provides a finely ground biomass material used to create biomass-containing plastics having a smooth surface, while also preventing creation of unwanted color including those created by the Maillard reaction which results from a combination of sugars, protein, heat and acid or base chemicals. The present invention also provides for methods to prevent agglomeration of small particles into larger particles which can produce irregular surfaces on biomass-based plastics, including thin film plastics, especially thin film plastics less than 4 mil and other thin film plastics that can become too large to use in thin-film plastic production. For the purpose of this invention, plastic resins can be any gas or liquid hydrocarbon or fermentation-based resins.

The present invention is directed to a method of making a cord-reinforced rubber article, comprising the steps of A) mixing a carrier gas, sulfur and an alkyne, to form a gas mixture; B) generating an atmospheric pressure plasma from the gas mixture; C) exposing a steel reinforcement cord to the atmospheric pressure plasma to produce a treated reinforcement cord; and D) contacting the treated steel reinforcement cord with a rubber composition comprising a diene based elastomer.