The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a composite part intended for being subjected, via at least one attachment point, to pulling and/or compression forces. The method includes: winding fibers on a hub so as to form a portion of the wall of the part, and creating an externally convex rounded area at the location intended to form the area for applying the pulling and/or compression forces. The forces are radial thereto. The method also includes placing an insert on the convex rounded area, the insert including the attachment point or a mechanism for rigidly connecting the attachment point, and continuing to wind fibers so as to form the rest of the wall, while covering a portion of the insert and leaving the attachment point or the mechanism for rigidly connecting the attachment point accessible.

A molding method for fabricating a composite part having inserts is provided including disposing preforms in a mold, each having co-aligned, resin-impregnated fibers, placing the inserts in the mold adjacent to at least one of the preforms, wherein each insert has securement features for receiving a portion of the co-aligned resin-impregnated fibers from at least one preform, and applying heat and pressure in an amount sufficient to consolidate the resin-impregnated fibers into a resin matrix, thereby forming the part, including consolidating the fibers and resin within the securement features. A fiber composite part is also provided including continuous, co-aligned fibers within a resin matrix, and at least one insert disposed in the matrix, the insert comprising at least one securement feature having a second plurality of the fibers therein, the second plurality of fibers extending into the resin matrix and overlapping with some of the first plurality of fibers.

A tension member with at least one loop made from fiber-reinforced plastic, which tension member has a plurality of fibers that run substantially parallel to each other, so that the loop is formed by the plurality of fibers, wherein a first group of fibers is turned over along the loop in a first turning direction, while a second group of fibers is turned over along the loop in a second turning direction, which is opposed to the first turning direction. Some of the turned-over fibers of both groups end in a different distance from the vertex of the loop than others of the turned-over fibers, so that a cross-section of the tension member that results from the respective number of fibers that run approximately parallel to each other outside the turning-over area of the fibers approximately continuously decreases until it reaches the cross-section size of the tension member.

Disclosed are reinforced structures. The structures are comprised of reinforced elements that have continuous fibers embedded in a matrix material. The reinforced elements are combined in a matrix material to form a desired shape of reinforced structure.

A railroad crosstie (tie) may be fabricated from a composite material including a fiber reinforced polymer shell manufactured by pultrusion or other process, and filled by a suitable material, typically selected from expanded elastomeric polymer (such as polyurethane resin or other polymer), concrete, lightweight concrete formed by conventional aggregate, sand, cement, water, and an ultra light filler such as natural materials, sawdust, beads of expanded polymer such as expanded polystyrene, microspheres of glass or plastic, a recycled wooden tie in conjunction with any of the above, or the like. Fasteners may be driven such as spikes, threaded, such as screws, lag screws, spreading screws, rivets, or the like into apertures, pilot holes, or directly into fill absent apertures therein.

A die for molding a reinforcing bar, which enables the production of a reinforcing bar having sufficient strength in a convenient and inexpensive manner, includes: a main flow channel (F1), formed in a central portion of a main body, that receives a molten thermoplastic polymer material (Rt) output from an extruder (2); at least one first sub flow channel (F2), formed in an outer peripheral portion of the main body, that receives the molten thermoplastic polymer material (Rt) and fluidly connects with an outer peripheral portion in the main flow channel (F1); and at least one second sub flow channel (F3) configured to receive reinforcing fibers (4) and fluidly connected with the main flow channel F1 upstream of a junction position of the main flow channel F1 and the at least one first sub flow channel (F2).

A basalt fiber composite rebar and method of manufacturing the same that includes producing an elongated body with an outer surface, two opposing terminal ends, a longitudinal length separating the two opposing terminal ends of the elongated body, of an epoxy matrix having a plurality of longitudinally oriented and twisted basalt fibers independently embedded and bonded therein and continually spanning along the longitudinal length, and a basalt fiber overlay directly coupled to the outer surface of the elongated body in a spiral configuration to define a plurality of fiber ribs spatially displaced from one another along the longitudinal length.

Apparatus for producing bent multi-sided pultruded fibre reinforced plastic reinforcement bar for concrete (commonly known as FRP rebar) comprises multiple resin wetting stages to simultaneously resin impregnate multiple bundles of fibreglass rovings continuously drawn through the resin wetting stages, multiple spiral winding stages arranged to spiral wind warps around the multiple wet rovings, and multiple rotating multi-sided former frames for continuously winding thereon the multiple wet rovings and holding the multiple rovings while curing. A related method is also claimed.

A new method of curing polymer thermoset materials for use in down-hole production system sucker rod protection devices is disclosed. The process for making sucker rod components on a sucker rod comprises the steps of introducing a thermoset molding compound into a molding tool heated to a first temperature; heating the molding compound in the molding tool for a first processing time to form molded sucker rod components on a sucker rod that are partially cured; removing the molded sucker rod components and sucker rod after the first processing time; and placing the sucker rod components and sucker rod into a thermal chamber at a second temperature for a second processing time to provide secondary curing.

A method is provided of designing and producing a carbon fiber composite wrist pin using a combination of a carbon fiber composite pultruded rod that is overwrapped with a carbon fiber prepreg fabric. The use of the carbon fiber pultruded rod and the carbon fiber prepreg fabric results in a rod with optimal flexural strength properties to endure the flexural stress placed on a wrist pin during the cycling of an internal combustion engine. In addition, the overwrapping of the pultruded rod with a carbon fiber prepreg fabric allows for one pultruded rod blank to produce multiple wrist pin sizes by allowing one to change the outer diameter of the wrist pin by changing the thickness of the carbon fiber prepreg fabric overwrapping. After overwrapping, the rod blank is cut to a chosen specific length, optionally inserted into a metal sleeve, and coated with a thermal barrier coating. The wrist pin is then ground to a chosen specific tolerance and coated with an anti-friction coating.