Disclosed herein is a method of reinforcing a composite comprising determining a location of a first cooling hole in a plurality of plies; where a cooling gas is transported through the cooling hole; disposing a z-fiber in the plurality of plies at a location proximate to where the first cooling hole will be located; where the z-fiber enters the plurality of plies at either an upper surface or a lower surface; and where the z-fiber traverses a portion of the plurality of plies in the z-direction proximate to the first cooling hole; and traverses the plurality of plies in an x or y direction further away from the first cooling hole; where the z-direction is in the thickness direction of the plurality of plies and where the x and y-direction are perpendicular to the z-direction.

A passivating flexible insulation blanket positionable about a pipe includes an insulation core, an enclosing fabric, and a non-consumable passivator. The insulation core is substantially hydrophobic and includes a microporous material. The enclosing fabric fully encapsulates the insulation core to form a capsule or pouch about the insulation core. The non-consumable passivator is non-consumable such that there is no appreciable change to a mass of the non-consumable passivator after an extended time of activation. The non-consumable passivator is deposited into the insulation core and has a composition soluble in water. The non-consumable passivator includes a leachable component that leaches from the insulation core and is capable of neutralizing acidic components. The leachable component is water soluble and is capable of reacting with a surface of the pipe to form a protective coating on the pipe to aid in inhibiting corrosion formation on the surface of the pipe.

A method of fabricating a laminar composite article, includes steps of spreading a plurality of continuous fiber tows from a spool to form a first ply layer having a substantially consistent layer thickness, applying a binder to the spread plurality of continuous fiber tows, curing the plurality of continuous fiber tows and applied binder at a cure temperature less than a thermal decomposition temperature of the binder, and processing the cured plurality of continuous fiber tows at a post-cure temperature greater than the cure temperature.

Hybrid composite materials including carbon nanotube sheets and flexible ceramic materials, and methods of making the same are provided herein. In one embodiment, a method of forming a hybrid composite material is provided, the method including: placing a layer of a first flexible ceramic composite on a lay-up tooling surface; applying a sheet of a pre-preg carbon fiber reinforced polymer on the flexible ceramic composite; curing the flexible ceramic composite and the pre-preg carbon fiber reinforced polymer sheet together to form a hybrid composite material; and removing the hybrid composite material from the lay-up tooling surface, wherein the first flexible ceramic composite comprises an exterior surface of the hybrid composite material.

In an illustrative implementation of this invention, a 3D object comprises substrate layers infiltrated by a hardened material. The 3D object is fabricated by a method comprising the following steps: Position powder on all or part of a substrate layer. Repeat this step for the remaining substrate layers. Transform the powder into a substance that flows and subsequently hardens into the hardened material. The hardened material solidifies in a spatial pattern that infiltrates positive regions in the substrate layers and does not infiltrate negative regions in the substrate layers.

A laminate assembly includes a matrix layer and elongated, continuous strips of a conductive alloy. The matrix layer has opposite first and second sides connected by opposite first and second edges. Each of the first and second edges extends from the first side of the matrix layer to the opposite second side of the matrix layer. The elongated, continuous strips of the conductive alloy are disposed in the matrix layer between the first and second sides of the matrix layer. The elongated continuous strips continuously extend through the matrix layer from the first edge to the opposite second edge.

The invention relates to a method of making an acoustic product and a novel acoustic product, wherein the acoustic product is made by adhering a facing to a first major surface of an acoustic insulation element by the use of an adhesive and curing the adhesive. The adhesive is an aqueous adhesive composition which comprises a component (i) in form of one or more oxidized lignins; a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers; a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers.

A device and a method for the production of a fiber mat is suitable in particular for use in the production of packaging board or fibrous construction elements, from a fibrous source material. The method includes providing the fibrous source material, low-water processing of the fibrous source material in an airflow into raw material including individual fibers and/or fiber bundles, forming of the individual fibers and/or fiber bundles in the airflow by a dry forming method into a fiber mat in such a way that a spatial or three-dimensional structure is formed by the fiber mat and consolidation of the formed fiber mat. The specific volume of the fiber mat is greater than 1.6 cm.sup.3/g, in particular greater than 2 cm.sup.3/g, preferably greater than 3 cm.sup.3/g, and the fiber mat thickness ≥1 mm, in particular ≥1.5 mm, preferably ≥2 mm.

Fire retardant laminates including a textile layer, a protective layer, and a fire retardant are provided. The protective layer includes a porous membrane and a coating layer. The porous membrane is positioned between the textile layer and the coating layer. The fire retardant includes one or more phosphonate esters of the general formula: ##STR00001##
where n=0 or 1, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkyl, R.sub.3 is H or C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkyl, and R.sub.4 is a linear or branched alkyl. At least a portion of the phosphonate ester in the fire retardant laminate resides in the coating layer. The fire retardant laminates are suitable for use in protective garments that provide full flammability and burn protection, even after exposure to flammable materials such as petroleum, oils, and lubricants. A method of rendering the fire retardant laminate fire retardant is also provided.

Composite materials are provided which may include one or more sheets of carbon fibers woven in orthogonal direction bundles; carbon nanotubes embedded within pores between the bundles; and a matrix material in which the one or more sheets and the carbon nanotubes are embedded. In one case, the carbon fibers lie substantially in an x-direction and a y-direction and the carbon nanotubes are oriented substantially in a z-direction, which is substantially perpendicular to the x- and y-directions. Methods for making the composite materials are also provided.