A method of fabricating a composite structure includes laying at least one composite ply about a bladder, the bladder comprising a phase change material in a first phase having a first volume, positioning an outer mold about the bladder and the at least one composite ply, and curing the at least one composite ply to form the composite structure. Curing causes the phase change material contained within the bladder to change to a second phase to expand from the first volume to a second volume and apply a pressure to an interior surface of the composite ply and press an outer surface of the composite ply against the outer mold to form an interior cavity. The bladder is not removable from the formed interior cavity.

A method of fabricating a composite structure includes laying at least one composite ply about a bladder, the bladder comprising a phase change material in a first phase having a first volume, positioning an outer mold about the bladder and the at least one composite ply, and curing the at least one composite ply to form the composite structure. Curing causes the phase change material contained within the bladder to change to a second phase to expand from the first volume to a second volume and apply a pressure to an interior surface of the composite ply and press an outer surface of the composite ply against the outer mold to form an interior cavity. The bladder is not removable from the formed interior cavity.

A method of fabricating a composite structure includes laying at least one composite ply about a bladder, the bladder comprising a phase change material in a first phase having a first volume, positioning an outer mold about the bladder and the at least one composite ply, and curing the at least one composite ply to form the composite structure. Curing causes the phase change material contained within the bladder to change to a second phase to expand from the first volume to a second volume and apply a pressure to an interior surface of the composite ply and press an outer surface of the composite ply against the outer mold to form an interior cavity. The bladder is not removable from the formed interior cavity.

A rail for the fastening of equipment elements, such as, in particular, seats, in aircraft, includes a holding region for connection to an equipment element of an aircraft, and a support region to fasten the rail to a carrier element of the aircraft. The rail has a metallic shell which is, for example, made of titanium and which is filled with a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic filler material which is reinforced by short fibers. To produce the rail, a metallic molded part is used as a casting mold and is filled, for example by injection, with the filler material and, after the rail has been produced, forms the metallic shell for the filler material.

The present disclosure is directed methods for manufacturing spar caps for wind turbine rotor blades. In certain embodiments, the method includes forming an outer frame of the spar cap via at least one of three-dimensional (3D) pultrusion, thermoforming, or 3D printing. As such, the outer frame has a varying cross-section that corresponds to a varying cross-section of the rotor blade along a span thereof. The method also includes arranging a plurality of structural materials (e.g. layers of pultruded plates) within the pultruded outer frame of the spar cap and infusing the structural materials and the outer frame together via a resin material so as to form the spar cap. The resulting spar cap can then be easily incorporated into conventional rotor blade manufacturing processes and/or welded or bonded to an existing rotor blade.

A product [11] includes a foldable clamshell-type housing [10] folded to a closed position to contain a pre-formed sensor pad [17] that was formed in situ therein when the housing [10] was in an open position, prior to closing. The housing [10] has an enclosed volume [12] bounded by relatively thin and flexible walls [23, 34], and outwardly extending tabs [18] which facilitate opening. This structure enables the user to easily open the housing [10] to remove the sensor pad [17], a cured silicone composition, by pushing inward on an outer surface of the outer wall [34] of a base section [15] of the housing [10]. This product [11] reduces the amount of manipulation needed to place the sensor pad [17] in a desired position, for example, during installation of a rain sensor system for a vehicle windshield.

Injection-molded components are produced using single-use molds. In order to produce individual injection-molded components inexpensively, an injection mold constructed from two elements, namely a shell and a shell reinforcement, is used. The two elements of the injection mold are produced from materials that must have specific material properties, namely solubility and melting temperature. The selection of these materials depends on the material properties of the injection-molding material that is used.

A method of fabricating a composite structure includes laying at least one composite ply about a bladder, the bladder comprising a phase change material in a first phase having a first volume, positioning an outer mold about the bladder and the at least one composite ply, and curing the at least one composite ply to form the composite structure. Curing causes the phase change material contained within the bladder to change to a second phase to expand from the first volume to a second volume and apply a pressure to an interior surface of the composite ply and press an outer surface of the composite ply against the outer mold to form an interior cavity. The bladder is not removable from the formed interior cavity.

A product [11] includes a foldable clamshell-type housing [10] folded to a closed position to contain a pre-formed sensor pad [17] that was formed in situ therein when the housing [10] was in an open position, prior to closing. The housing [10] has an enclosed volume [12] bounded by relatively thin and flexible walls [23, 34], and outwardly extending tabs [18] which facilitate opening. This structure enables the user to easily open the housing [10] to remove the sensor pad [17], a cured silicone composition, by pushing inward on an outer surface of the outer wall [34] of a base section [15] of the housing [10]. This product [11] reduces the amount of manipulation needed to place the sensor pad [17] in a desired position, for example, during installation of a rain sensor system for a vehicle windshield.

An assembly for densification under load along at least one direction of compression. The assembly includes: at least one volume to be densified having a powdery and/or porous composition and having variations in thickness along the direction of compression; and at least one counter-form of a powdery and/or porous composition, having at least one face facing at least one portion of the volume. The face and each of the portions are separated by at least one deformable interface layer.