A method of manufacturing a heterogeneous composite includes the steps of providing a first constituent and a second constituent, wherein the first constituent is porous or capable of developing pores when under hydrostatic pressure, and the second constituent comprises a solid having thermoplastic properties; positioning the second constituent relative to the first constituent and coupling energy into the second constituent to cause at least portions of the second constituent to liquefy and to penetrate into pores or other structures of the first constituent, whereby the first constituent is interpenetrated by the second constituent to yield a composite; and, causing an irreversible transition at least of the second constituent to yield a modified composite.

A rhinoplasty appliance is provided that may be custom-molded to a patient's nasal anatomy, including the nostrils, to maintain the corrected contour of the nostrils after rhinoplastic surgery. The rhinoplasty appliance may include a support wire; a first and second wire flanges; a first and second nostril insertion portions, each having a passage and an aperture to permit flow of air and drainage; a connecting structure to maintain the position of the nostril insertion portions in relation to each other, and to provide support and protection for the columella. The first and second wire flange may help to secure the rhinoplasty appliance in position on the patient's face, and improve retention of the first and second nostril insertion portions in the patient's nostrils. The support wire may be provided as added support for the connecting structure.

An elastically-deformable, conductive composite using elastomers and conductive fibers and simple fabrication procedures is provided. Conductive elastomeric composites offer low resistance to electrical current and are elastic over large (>25%) extensional strains. They can be easily interfaced/built into structures fabricated from elastomeric polymers.

A method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of the invention is characterized by including: a metallic steel-wire producing step of placing a center elemental wire and a plurality of strands so that the plurality of strands surrounds the center elemental wire, and applying tension to them so that each distance between the center elemental wire and each of the strands becomes the same, to thereby produce the metallic steel wire; a preheating step of heating the metallic steel wire to a temperature equal to or more than that of a thermoplastic resin in a molten state; a composite-material forming step of integrating the metallic steel wire heated with the thermoplastic resin in a molten state, and extruding them through a die finished into a cross-section shape of the escalator handrail to thereby form the composite material; and a cooling step of forcibly cooling the composite material.

A hybrid composite comprising a thermoplastic or thermoset matrix in which brittle and ductile fibers are present, wherein the fibers are configured such that the ductile fibers of the hybrid composite dissipate energy at a impact or overload by plastic deformation of the ductile fibers and show residual properties after impact or overload.

A method of and apparatus for extruding an article of uniform cross-section, the article including a thermoplastic material and at least one cable for inhibiting stretch of the article. The cable is supplied to a respective tube and is conveyed between upstream and downstream ends. The thermoplastic material may be supplied to the downstream end of the tube. The thermoplastic material is brought together with the cable to embed the cable within the thermoplastic material, thereby forming a composite extrudate. The tube is configured to at least hinder movement of loose windings of the cable from the downstream end towards the upstream end, which may prevent or at least reduce incidence of birdcaging.

A steel cord has a stranded structure comprising a plurality of sheath strands intertwined around the outer circumferential surface of a core strand; and a filament having a linear mass density of at least 560 dtex and not more than 2,200 dtex wrapped in a spiral around the outer circumferential surface of the core strand. The steel cord is embedded in an unvulcanized rubber member to mold a molded rubber article, which is then vulcanized.

A process for producing an article by three-dimensional printing includes applying a 1,1-di-activated vinyl compound-containing liquid binder over a predetermined area of a layer of solid particles. The liquid binder infiltrates gaps between the solid particles to form a first cross-sectional layer of an article, and the 1,1-di-activated vinyl compound reacts to solidify the liquid binder and bind the solid particles in the first cross-sectional layer of the article. Also provided is an article produced by the three-dimensional printing process, set forth herein.

Disclosed is a method of making a load-bearing traction member. According to the method, a composition including a thermoplastic polyurethane and a compound with a plurality of epoxide groups or a compound with a plurality of groups having the formula

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wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 are each groups in a polymer backbone or together form a group having the formula NR.sub.4, wherein R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 each independently represents an organic group, is heated to a fluid state and applied to at least one tension member, and solidified to form a polymer jacket around at least one tension member

A core according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a core that is inserted into a space between a skin and a stringer in a step of integrally molding the skin and the stringer, the skin including fiber-reinforced resin, the stringer having a hat-shaped section that is open toward the skin. The core includes: a first die that extends along a longitudinal direction of the stringer and contacts the skin; a second die that extends along the longitudinal direction of the stringer, is adjacent to the first die, and contacts the skin; and a third die that extends along the longitudinal direction of the stringer, is located at an opposite side of the skin across the first die and the second die, and contacts both the first die and the second die.