A lightweight composite material includes a substrate and a carbon fiber layer. The substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, and is prepared by impregnating glass fibers with a resinous matrix which is formed by mixing hollow glass microspheres with a thermosettable resin material. The carbon fiber layer is bonded to one of the first and second surfaces of the substrate by thermosetting the thermosettable resin material.

A composite skin and composite stiffeners are co-cured in an autoclave. Uncured stiffeners are placed in channels of a tool, and an uncured skin is placed on the tool contacting the stiffeners. The vacuum bag is sealed over the tool. Bladders placed in the stiffeners are exposed to autoclave pressure through a manifold system employing vent tubes that pass through the vacuum bag along a side of the tool.

The present invention relates to a thermoplastic polyurethane obtainable or obtained by the conversion of at least a polyisocyanate composition, propane-1,3-diol as chain extender and a polyol composition, wherein no further chain extender is used aside from propane-1,3-diol, to a process for preparing such a thermoplastic polyurethane, and to the use of such a polyurethane for production of injection molded products, extrusion products, films and shaped bodies.

The present embodiments provide an apparatus for producing a pressure vessel blank, comprising at least one connection element, a multi-part blow-moulding tool, and at least one blowing pin. The present embodiments further provide a pressure vessel comprising at least one connection element, a pressure vessel blank, and a supporting shell connected to and supporting the pressure vessel blank. An aspect of the present embodiments provides a process for producing a pressure vessel blank using an apparatus comprising at least one connection element that enables a shortened time for producing a pressure vessel blank with increased stability under pressure.

Provided is a resin composition containing: a cellulose acylate (A); a thermoplastic elastomer (B); and a fiber (C).

A molding material comprising the following components (A) to (D) at the following ratios, in which the component (D) is bonded to a composite comprising the components (A) to (C) and the order in the weight average molecular weight is component (D)>component (B)>component (C); (A) 1 to 75 wt % of a reinforcing fiber bundle; (B) 0.01 to 10 wt % of a first propylene-based resin; (C) 0.01 to 10 wt % of a second propylene-based resin having carboxylate groups bound to the polymer chains thereof; and (D) 5 to 98.98 wt % of a third propylene-based resin. A molding material of this invention provides a long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin molding material containing a propylene-based resin as the matrix resin, which allows the reinforcing fibers to be well dispersed into the molded article produced at the time of injection molding and allows the molded article produced to have excellent mechanical properties.

Systems and methods are provided for utilizing pellet-loaded bladders to consolidate and/or harden composite parts. One embodiment is a method for fabricating a composite part. The method includes laying up a preform that is made of fiber reinforced material and that includes a cavity, inserting one or more bladders that are loaded with expandable pellets into the cavity, inflating the bladders in response to a triggering condition, consolidating the preform while the bladders are inflated, deflating the bladders, and removing the bladders from the cavity.

A vehicle body structure includes a resin floor part provided with a flange portion bent toward an upper side or a lower side at an end in a vehicle width direction, and a metal side sill part joined to the flange portion of the floor part. The side sill part includes a rim portion, a peak portion, and intermediate portions that link the rim portion to the peak portion. The peak portion and the intermediate portions form a protruding portion projecting from the rim portion toward the floor part. The flange portion of the floor part is joined to the peak portion of the protruding portion.

Chopped fiber composite systems and methods are disclosed. Sorting systems include a conveyor, an imager, a plurality of receptacles, a pneumatic device, and controller. Molding systems include a conveyor, an imager, a mold, a pneumatic device, and a controller. The controller directs the pneumatic device to alter the freefall of chopped fiber composite pieces based on characteristics of the chopped fiber composite pieces as they drop from the conveyor and into a receptacle or a mold. Sorting and molding methods include dropping chopped fiber composite pieces, detecting characteristics of the dropping pieces, and directing the pieces based on the detected characteristics.

The present invention relates to a method for the production of injection-moulded, reinforced moulded parts, the fibre orientation of which is specifically adjusted on a local basis. Via suitable, dynamically controlled supplementary heating in the wall of the injection mould which is used (variotherm heatable channel), a local cavity region is hereby heated at the time of injection to a temperature in the region of or above the solidification temperature (in any case above the crystallisation temperature in the case of partially crystalline plastic materials or above the glass transition temperature in the case of amorphous plastic materials) of the polymer (plastic material moulding compound).