A reinforced substrate is used for molding a composite material. The reinforced substrate includes a first region and a second region. The first region includes reinforcing fibers extending in a fiber direction that is aligned in a single direction. The second region includes the reinforcing fibers aligned in the same direction as the fiber direction and being thinner than the first region. The first region and the second region are lined up in alternating fashion in a plane along a direction intersecting the fiber direction.

A soundproof structure includes a porous fibrous body that attenuates incident sound waves, wherein the fibrous body is formed of fibers having an average fiber diameter of 0.5 m or more and 5 m or less, and includes a surface layer on which the sound waves are incident and a propagation layer that is stacked with the surface layer and that propagates the sound waves from the surface layer, and wherein the propagation layer includes a high density layer having a density higher than a density of the surface layer.

A vehicle interior material that is manufactured at by bonding a base member and a surface member with each other without using an adhesive agent or an adhesive film, that is light in weight and that has adhesive strength and abrasion resistance. The base member includes a natural fiber or a glass fiber and a first thermoplastic resin fiber and has a density of 0.2 to 0.7 g/cm.sup.3 The surface member includes a second thermoplastic resin fiber and a low melting point resin fiber and that has a weight per unit area of 50 to 500 g/m.sup.2. The surface member is laid on a surface of the base member. An entangled layer where the second thermoplastic resin fiber enters texture of the base member to be entangled with the first thermoplastic resin fiber is provided at an interface between the base member and the surface member.

A method, in accordance with one embodiment, includes forming an array of structures from a raw material via cold spray. Each of the structures is characterized by having a defined feature size in at least one dimension of less than 100 microns as measured in a plane of deposition of the structure, at least 90% of a theoretical density of the raw material, and essentially the same functional properties as the raw material. A method, in accordance with another embodiment, includes positioning a mask between a cold spray nozzle and a substrate, and forming a structure on the substrate by cold spraying a raw material from the cold spray nozzle. The structure has a shape corresponding to an aperture in the mask.

Provided is a rotor blade that may include a first layer having first plurality of fibers oriented at first angle of about 20 to 30 degrees relative to a long axis of the rotor blade, a second plurality of fibers oriented at a second angle of about 60 to 75 degrees relative to the first plurality of fibers, and a third plurality of fibers oriented at a third angle of about 60 to about 75 degrees relative to the second plurality of fibers.

A composite sheet material includes a cover sheet, a substrate and an adhesion promoting layer. The cover sheet has a cover sheet material. The substrate has a substrate material. The adhesion promoting layer is disposed between the cover sheet and the substrate. A first side of the adhesion promoting layer disposed towards the cover sheet has an affinity to bond with the cover sheet material. A second side of the adhesion promoting layer disposed towards the substrate has an affinity to bond with the substrate material.

A porous bionic skull repairing material includes a polymer material, whose structure is consistent with that of a human skull. The surface layers of the porous bionic skull repairing material are dense layers which are composed of non-degradable or degradable polymer materials and has blind holes having an asymmetric structure, and the inner layer of the porous bionic skull repairing material is a loose layer which has a porous structure. The repairing material can be molded by adopting a mixed mould pressing method or a 3D printing method, simulates a bone structure, with two dense sides and a loose middle, of a human skull to the greatest extent.

A flexible substrate includes a polymer substrate. At least a portion of a first barrier region is formed on a neutral plane of the polymer substrate. A top region is formed above the first barrier region. A bottom region is formed below the first barrier region. The first barrier region includes a first inorganic material disposed in at least a portion of a free volume of the polymer substrate. A density of the first inorganic material in the first barrier region is greater than a density of the first inorganic material in the top or bottom regions.

A flow body for a vehicle having a flow surface, as well as a skin system attached to the flow surface is proposed. The skin system has a top layer and a foam arrangement positioned between the flow surface and the top layer, wherein the top layer includes an elastic, surface-like material, wherein the foam arrangement includes a first layer of an elastic, compressible open cell foam, wherein the foam arrangement is bonded to the top layer. The skin system has a static shape in an unloaded state, in which the shape defines an outer surface geometry that directly follows the geometry of the respective flow surface, and the skin system has a deflected shape when the flow body is subjected to turbulent air flow. The deflected shape at least temporarily compresses the foam arrangement.

Disclosed, among other things, are ways to manufacture reduced density thermoplastics using rapid solid-state foaming and machines useful for the saturation of plastic. In one embodiment, a foaming process may involve saturating a semi-crystalline polymer such as Polylactic Acid (PLA) with high levels of gas, and then heating, which may produce a reduced density plastic having high levels of crystallinity. In another embodiment, a foaming process may produce layered structures in reduced density plastics with or without integral skins. In another embodiment, a foaming process may produce deep draw structures in reduced density plastics with or without integral skins. In yet another embodiment, a foaming process may utilize additives, blends, or fillers, for example. In yet another embodiment, a foaming process may involve saturating a semi-crystalline polymer such as Polylactic Acid (PLA) with high levels of gas, and then heating, which may produce a reduced density plastic having high levels of crystallinity.