One object is to provide a supporting structure for a force transmission member, an aircraft reaction link, a flight control surface driving unit, a method of mounting a force transmission member, and a method of manufacturing aircraft reaction link that enable weight reduction while ensuring necessary strength. In accordance with one aspect, the reaction link includes a bush and a link body formed of a fiber-reinforced plastic and supporting the bush. The link body includes a supporting portion supporting the bush, and the fibers included in the supporting portion are continuous.

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.

The plastic structural article includes an elongated tubular shell having opposed end sections, a middle section there between and an interior cavity. The interior cavity has a foam core situated therein. The foam core comprises steam expandable polymer beads which when expanded substantially fill the interior cavity. The bead and shell are of a similar plastic composition enabling the articles to be reground and recycled. An apparatus for forming the articles and an associated method of manufacture are also disclosed. A thermal management system includes a panel having a periphery, and a skin having a thermal bond to an in-situ foam core. The panel has a thermal transmittance u-value ranging from 0.1 to 0.17 W/m.sup.2 C.

The plastic structural article includes an elongated tubular shell having opposed end sections, a middle section there between and an interior cavity. The interior cavity has a foam core situated therein. The foam core comprises steam expandable polymer beads which when expanded substantially fill the interior cavity. The bead and shell are of a similar plastic composition enabling the articles to be reground and recycled. An apparatus for forming the articles and an associated method of manufacture are also disclosed.

One object is to provide a casting rod wherein a tip rod vibrates for a long period of time upon a fish bite. In accordance with one aspect, the casting rod of the present invention includes a tip rod formed of a fiber reinforced resin material into a tubular shape; and a distal end region of the tip rod is provided with a high specific gravity member having a specific gravity three to six times as high as a material constituting the tip rod.

A composite sucker rod (12) has a tension rod (16) formed of a carbon fiber reinforced phenolic material and a support sleeve (18) formed of aluminum. The support sleeve (18) extends around the tension rod (16). A compressive preload is applied to the support sleeve (18) and a corresponding tensile preload is applied to the tension rod (16). The tensile preload reduces compressive loads applied to the tension rod (16). The compressive preload and the tensile preload are applied by differences in coefficients of thermal expansion of the materials from which the support sleeve (18) and the tension rod (16) are formed, and exposure to well temperatures. Opposite terminal end sections of the tension rod (16) have exterior peripheries (62) which are formed to define compound progressive radii provided having indentions (64) and protuberances (66) which fit in cooperative relation with formed surfaces of clamping members (34, 36) of end fittings (14) having profiles (38) to secure the end fittings to the tension rod (16).

A glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin molding product is provided, which has a ring-shaped structure, and includes a thermoplastic resin, and a fibrous filler dispersed in the thermoplastic resin. The fibrous filler includes: (A) 40 to 80% of glass fibers each having a length of at least 0.05 mm and less than 0.5 mm; (B) 15 to 40% of glass fibers each having a length of at least 0.5 mm and less than 1.0 mm; (C) 5 to 30% of glass fibers each having a length of at least 1.0 mm and less than 3.0 mm; and (D) at most 1% of glass fibers each having a length of at least 3.0 mm,
based on the total number of fibers of the fibrous filler present in the molding product.

A method of producing a control arm for a motor vehicle, in particular a multi-point control arm, preferably a transverse control arm, which is substantially formed by a fiber-plastic composite structure. The method includes the steps: creating of a preform structure with load-adapted fiber orientation, introducing the preform structure into a forming tool, consolidating the preform structure in the tool by application of pressure and/or temperature, and removing and further processing of the control arm.

A block of construction material is fabricated by harvesting a plurality of tread strips from a plurality of tires by, for each tire, removing a tread texture of a tread cap from each tire using a tread removal device while leaving a remaining portion of the tread cap intact with one or more sidewalls and shoulders of each tire, removing the side walls and the entire shoulders from each tire by cutting through the remaining portion of each tread cap, and slicing the remaining portion of each tread cap to produce tread strips. Each strip is preheated, and while maintaining the temperature, stacked onto the gummed previous strips, until a block of desirable size is yielded. Use of fasteners, plates and membranes to maintain the stacked tread strips into a block arrangement is eliminated.

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).