A method of manufacturing a composite article includes: providing a textile preform comprising a combination of filaments of reinforcing material with filaments of a thermoplastic matrix material; placing the preform in a mould; thermoforming the textile preform within the mould to consolidate the textile preform into a composite, the thermoforming including increasing the temperature above the melting temperature of the thermoplastic matrix material and applying pressure; cooling the composite within the mould to below the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic matrix material, thereby forming a composite article; and removing the composite article from the mould. Part of the filaments used to produce the textile preform is in the form of yarns each comprising a mixture of reinforcing material filaments and matrix material filaments combined to form a single comingled yarn, or one or more yarns of reinforcing material filaments combined with one or more yarns of matrix material filaments.

The embodiment relates to a balanced propeller and to an extrudable metal polymer composite and process for making and using the composite to make balancing weight strips for marine or boat propellers. Metal particulate of adequate particle size is mixed with a polymer that is extruded or injection molded to form a high-density weighted strip.

The present disclosure generally relates to thermoplastic truss structures and methods of forming the same. The truss structures are formed using thermoplastic materials, such as fiber reinforced thermoplastic resins, and facilitate directional load support based on the shape of the truss structure. In one example, multiple two-dimensional patterns of fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin are disposed on one another in a saw tooth pattern, sinusoidal pattern, or other repeating pattern, and adhered to one another in selective locations. The two dimensional patterns may then be expanded in a third dimension to form a three-dimensional, cross-linked truss structure. The three-dimensional, cross-linked truss structure may then be heated or otherwise treated to maintain the three-dimensional shape.

A reinforcing fiber structure for a propeller blade made of composite material is woven as a single piece to have an airfoil, a spar portion, and an enlarged portion. The fiber structure includes a zone of non-interlinking extending between the front and rear edges of the airfoil, and extending between an intermediate zone and the bottom edge of said airfoil. The spar portion extends inside the airfoil in the zone of non-interlinking, the spar portion extending outside the airfoil through the bottom edge of said airfoil. The enlarged portion extends from the spar portion outside the airfoil. The airfoil includes skins that are not interlinked with each other in the zone of non-interlinking and that surround the spar portion. The skins define two housings present inside the airfoil on respective sides of the spar portion and opening out through the bottom edge of the airfoil.

A flat lightweight member that is favorable in appearance quality and also excellent in productivity while being excellent in mechanical property at the ends and adhesiveness between a core and a skin includes: skin layers disposed on both surfaces of the flat lightweight member; end reinforcing layers disposed to have contact with both inner surfaces of the skin layers on the both surfaces at the ends of the flat lightweight member; and a core layer disposed in the space surrounded by the skin layers and the end reinforcing layers to have contact with the inner surfaces of the skin layers.

In a first aspect, there is a method of making a rotor blade, including designing at least one of an upper skin, a lower skin, a support network, and components therefor; and forming at least one of the upper skin, the lower skin, a support network, and components therefor using an additive manufacturing process. In a second aspect, there is an airfoil member having a root end, a tip end, a leading edge, and a trailing edge, the airfoil member including an upper skin; a lower skin; and a support network having a plurality of interconnected support members in a lattice arrangement and/or a reticulated arrangement, the support network being configured to provide tailored characteristics of the airfoil member. Also provided are methods and systems for repairing an airfoil member.

A laser-based coating removal method debonds a film from a substrate rather than ablating the film. A laser light is transmitted through a transparent film to an underlying bonding layer for bonding the film to one or more additional films and/or a substrate. The laser light is absorbed at the bonding layer and the transparent film is released. In some embodiments, after the transparent film is released it is able to be physically removed.

A method of manufacturing a fabric structure for use in manufacturing a composite aircraft blade. The method comprises: combining yarns including both reinforcing material filaments and a matrix material with yarns of reinforcing material filaments and/or yarns including at least one filament of matrix material; or by combining yarns of reinforcing material filaments with yarns including at least one filament of matrix material; or by combining yarns each comprising both reinforcing material filaments and matrix material. Combining may comprise weaving, knitting or braiding. The matrix material may be a thermoplastic.

A fiber preform for a vane module of an intermediate casing of a turbine engine, the preform being obtained by three-dimensional weaving. The preform includes first longitudinal segment presenting opposite first and second ends and suitable for forming a first vane; a second longitudinal segment presenting first and second opposite ends and suitable for forming a second vane; and a first transverse segment connecting together the first and second longitudinal segments by their first ends, and suitable for forming a first transverse vane portion such as a flange or a platform.

A fiber reinforced composite member molding apparatus includes a pair of molds for clamping layered prepreg, or stacked sheets of prepreg formed of long carbon fibers impregnated with resin, induction heating coils for heating thermoplastic resin contained in the prepreg via the molds, and cooling passages for cooling the resin via the molds after the resin is melted, wherein the molds each have a design surface brought into contact with the layered prereg, the design surface being divided into a plurality of regions, and a plurality of cells provided along the design surface to be open at the back of the design surface and individually correspond to the regions of the design surface, the induction heating coils are arranged in the cells, and the cooling passages are formed in each of the molds to run along the design surface. This configuration allows the molds to have sufficient rigidity and produces a uniform temperature distribution in heating and cooling.