Methods for producing an annular casing for an aircraft turbine engine are provided. The annular casing includes an annular body made from a composite material based on a first resin, and a fire-resistant outer layer which covers an external annular surface of the body and which is made from a composite material based on a self-extinguishing second resin. The method includes preparing a strip of a glass fabric preimpregnated with said second resin, this strip including woven fibres oriented in directions that are perpendicular to one another and inclined by an angle of approximately 45° with respect to the axis of elongation of the strip, and applying the strip to the external surface of the body so as to cover the entirety of this surface in a single pass of the strip around the body.

A resistance welding apparatus can employ a modular power supply system with multiple power supply modules and leads for electrically connecting the modular power supply system to a welding resistor. The resistance welding apparatus is selectively configurable in at least three of (i) a first configuration in which the leads connect the first power supply module to the resistor and the second power supply module is disconnected from the resistor; (ii) a second configuration in which the leads connect the second power supply module to the resistor and the first power supply module is disconnected from the resistor; (iii) a third configuration in which the leads connect the first and second power supply modules to the resistor in series; and (iv) a fourth configuration in which the leads connect the first and second power supply modules to the resistor in parallel.

Disclosed is a method of resistance welding between composite articles. A conductive element is provided between faying surfaces, having a plurality of lower resistivity electrode portions spaced apart along the length of the contact area between the composite articles. The electrode portions can be used to spot weld across the electrode portions, and along a longitudinal portion of the conductive element between the electrode portions by application of an electrical current. Also disclosed are apparatus for use in the resistance welding methods and composite articles and structures and elements incorporating the conductive element.

A composite article manufacturing facility comprising: a plurality of forming stations (1), each forming station being capable of forming pieces from a feedstock of a laminar reinforcement material; a plurality of lay-up stations (3), each lay-up station being capable of arranging a stack of the formed pieces in overlapping fashion; a transfer mechanism (2) configured to simultaneously transport formed portions from multiple ones of the forming stations towards multiple ones of the lay-up stations; a memory (93) storing a first sequence of pieces to be laid up at a first one of the lay-up stations and a second sequence of pieces to be laid up at a second one of the lay-up stations; and a controller (90) coupled to the forming stations, the lay-up stations and the transfer mechanism for controlling the operations thereof, the controller having access to the memory and being configured to, when a formed piece of the first sequence and a formed piece of the second sequence are loaded on the transfer mechanism, cause the transport mechanism to simultaneously transport them towards the first and second lay-up stations respectively.

An example mandrel for processing a part is described including an inner core having a material with first thermal properties, and an outer layer surrounding the inner core. The outer layer includes a material with second thermal properties different than the first thermal properties to enable uniform pressure distribution within the mandrel. An example method for fabricating a composite part is described including placing a base composite layer into a cavity of a tooling surface, inserting a mandrel into the cavity, applying a skin to the mandrel and the base composite layer forming a package, enclosing the package in a vacuum bag and curing the base composite layer and the skin such that during curing a pressure due to thermal expansion of one of the inner core and the outer layer is distributed by the other, and removing the mandrel from the cavity of the tooling surface following the curing.

A control surface for an aircraft may comprise an outer skin and a core coupled to the outer skin. The core may include a plurality of corrugations. A height of the core may decrease in a direction extending from a leading edge of the control surface to a trailing edge of the control surface.

Illustrative examples of forming and using suitably adapted materials for improving interface strength between thermoset-thermoplastic joined parts includes exposure of a thermoplastic substrate to a plasma to form an amine-functionalized substrate having amine chemical moieties disposed on a first surface. The first surface of the thermoplastic substrate is positioned adjacent to and contacts a second surface of a thermoset substrate to form a workpiece. The thermoset substrate includes epoxide chemical moieties on and within material forming the thermoset substrate. The workpiece is subsequently heated to form a structure, where heating of the workpiece causes covalent chemical bonds to form between the plasma-treated first surface of the thermoplastic substrate and the second surface of the thermoset substrate. Thereafter, additional thermoplastic components can be fusion bonded to a surface of the thermoplastic substrate opposite the first surface—thereby providing improved attachment of additional thermoplastic components to the thermoset substrate.

The present invention relates to a method for repairing a damaged thermal protection covering a nacelle structure for an aircraft turbojet engine by adding a repair thermal insulation blanket as well as a repair sheet onto the damaged part.

Described are various dual-tapered composite laminate structures. These structures may comprise a plurality of finite sub-laminate cards, each one of the plurality of cards having the same shape and size as the other ones of the plurality of cards and having opposing surfaces oriented in a card plane, opposing primary edges of the planar surfaces, and opposing secondary edges of the planar surfaces, the opposing secondary edges being perpendicular to the opposing primary edges. The finite sub-laminate cards are tacked relative to one another in a successively offset manner. Also described are methods of stacking and sliding (for offset) the finite sub-laminate cards. Tapered fuselage skin and fuel tank covers are also considered.

An apparatus for consolidating fiber-reinforced resin material comprises a housing, comprising a barrel and a receptacle. The receptacle comprises a base, a lid, positionable relative to the base and relative to the barrel such that the housing is in an open state or a closed state, and a de-gassing port. The apparatus comprises a gasket that is in contact with the lid, the base, and the barrel when the housing is in the closed state. The apparatus comprises a piston, movable between a retracted position, in which the piston, in its entirety, is in the barrel, and an extended position, in which a portion of the piston is in the receptacle and another portion of the piston is in the barrel. The apparatus comprises a seal, which is in contact with the piston and the barrel, and a drive system, configured to control movement of the piston.