A linerless composite tank for a waste or water system on board an aerospace vehicle includes a monolithic tank body having a first composite material co-cured with a second composite material. The first composite material includes a first resin and the second composite material includes a second resin that is different from the first resin. The first composite material forms an innermost surface of the monolithic tank body defining a tank chamber of the monolithic tank body. A method of manufacturing the linerless composite tank includes providing a mold having a desired interior shape of the monolithic tank, applying the first composite material to the mold, applying the second composite material to the mold, and co-curing the first composite material with the second composite material to form the monolithic composite tank.

Methods and apparatus for additive manufactures of complex parts using co-aligned continuous fibers are disclosed. Filament subunits having complex shapes are fabricated and inserted into a mold cavity. The layup is compression molded to form a complex part having high tensile strength.

Described herein are composites produced with a barrier ply. The barrier-ply prevents excessive mixing between conventional composite precursors and stoichiometrically-offset precursors during a cure process by gelling early in the cure cycle before extensive mixing can occur. Excess mixing requires the use of thicker offset resin layers with a large stoichiometric offset, which may limit the performance of unitized structures. The use of the barrier plies described herein address this issue and improves the mechanical properties of the final composite product as well as the efficiency for making the composites.

A method for producing an acoustically resistive structure includes the steps of creating, consolidating and cutting a first layer of reinforcing fibres embedded in a first thermoplastic resin having a first melting point so as to obtain an interlayer, a step of laying a second layer of reinforcing fibres against a first face of the interlayer, a second consolidation step of consolidating the second layer of reinforcing fibres embedded in a second thermoplastic resin having a second consolidation temperature lower than the first melting point of the first resin so as to obtain a non-perforated external layer bound to the interlayer, a step of perforating the external layer and a step of laying an internal layer on a second face of the interlayer. An acoustically resistive structure obtained from the method as well as a sound-absorption panel including such an acoustically resistive structure are also described.

Methods and apparatus for additive manufactures of complex parts using co-aligned continuous fibers are disclosed. Filament subunits having complex shapes are fabricated and inserted into a mold cavity. The layup is compression molded to form a complex part having high tensile strength.

A method for producing a prepreg in which a reinforcing fiber base material is impregnated with a resin to produce a prepreg, wherein said method comprises: a step for preparing a first resin, which is the resin containing a filler, and a second resin, which is the resin not containing a filler; a step for arranging the second resin adjacent to the reinforcing fiber base material; a step for arranging the first resin adjacent to the reinforcing fiber base material and/or the second resin; and a step for impregnating the reinforcing fiber base material with the resin of the first resin and the second resin.

The present invention pertains to a fiber-reinforced plastic that has, as at least one of the surface layers in the thickness direction thereof, a layer containing reinforced fibers and a matrix in which a thermosetting resin and a thermoplastic resin are integrated. The reinforced fibers form discontinuous reinforced fiber bundles randomly stacked or discontinuous reinforced fiber bundles arranged in one direction. A portion of the discontinuous reinforced fiber bundles is in contact with both of the thermosetting resin and the thermoplastic resin. The thermoplastic resin is exposed in at least a portion of the surface of the surface layer.

The present invention relates to a composite material with a graded or homogeneous matrix, the production method thereof, and the uses of same.

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 composite wheel structure includes a single continuous fiber reinforcement layer extending axially between inner and outer ends of the wheel structure. The single fiber reinforcement layer is impregnated with different matrix materials at different axial portions of the reinforcement layer to account for specific locations where high strength or high temperature performance is needed, with other portions having different matrix materials where low temperature performance and/or low strength is sufficient. The matrix materials may be provided as separate resin films that are applied side-by-side on the single reinforcement layer, or they may be provided on a single resin film. The matrix materials may be applied to the reinforcement layer in a direct coating process. The reinforcement layer may be prepregged with the matrix materials prior to a wheel layup process, or the reinforcement layer and matrix materials may be consolidated by resin film infusion during the wheel layup process.