Exemplary embodiments are described herein for compactable antennas and methods of making such an antenna. Exemplary compactable antennas include a support structure and a reflector surface. The support structure may directly or indirectly define the reflector shape. Exemplary embodiments comprise deployable support structures to permit the compactable antenna to have a smaller volume stowed configuration and a larger volume deployed configuration.

The present invention relates to a wind turbine blade comprising a lightning protection system with at least one tip end lightning receptor arranged at an outer surface of the blade and a down conductor extending within the blade. The blade comprises carbon fibre reinforced spar caps, wherein electrically conductive meshes are connected between the respective tip end of each spar cap to the tip end lightning conductor.

A method and apparatus for the additive manufacturing of three-dimensional objects are disclosed. Two or more materials are extruded simultaneously as a composite, with at least one material in liquid form and at least one material in a solid continuous strand completely encased within the liquid material. A means of curing the liquid material after extrusion hardens the composite. A part is constructed using a series of extruded composite paths. The strand material within the composite contains specific chemical, mechanical, or electrical characteristics that instill the object with enhanced capabilities not possible with only one material.

An on-orbit composite filament forming device for space 3D printing includes a constant tension unwinding module, a replaceable resin filament rotary wrapping module, a melt preheating chamber, a curved channel impregnation chamber, a variable aperture resin recovery device, a heat protective housing, a convective cooling device, a traction device, and a winding device. The replaceable resin filament rotary wrapping module wraps a resin filament on a surface of a carbon fiber by circumferential rotation and is provided with an active unwinding reel placed on a circular rail centered on the carbon fiber; the melt preheating chamber is used for melting resin to wrap the surface of the fiber, and is equipped with a lifting device for automatic opening and closing; the curved channel impregnation chamber is formed with a wedge-shaped high-pressure impregnation zone by mutual extrusion of upper and lower pressure blocks, thereby improving the quality of fiber impregnation.

The present invention provides a self-adhesive prepreg which is characterized by comprising: a base prepreg that is composed of reinforcing fibers and a thermosetting resin composition (I), some or all of which is impregnated into a reinforcing fiber layer that is formed of the reinforcing fibers; an adhesive layer that is composed of a nonwoven fabric which is laminated on at least one surface of the base prepreg so as to be integrated with the base prepreg and a thermosetting resin composition (II) which is laminated on the surface of the nonwoven fabric so as to be integrated with the nonwoven fabric.

An on-orbit composite filament forming device for space 3D printing includes a constant tension unwinding module, a replaceable resin filament rotary wrapping module, a melt preheating chamber, a curved channel impregnation chamber, a variable aperture resin recovery device, a heat protective housing, a convective cooling device, a traction device, and a winding device. The replaceable resin filament rotary wrapping module wraps a resin filament on a surface of a carbon fiber by circumferential rotation and is provided with an active unwinding reel placed on a circular rail centered on the carbon fiber; the melt preheating chamber is used for melting resin to wrap the surface of the fiber, and is equipped with a lifting device for automatic opening and closing; the curved channel impregnation chamber is formed with a wedge-shaped high-pressure impregnation zone by mutual extrusion of upper and lower pressure blocks, thereby improving the quality of fiber impregnation.

The present disclosure relates to a system for manufacturing a hybrid component including a first thermal supplier configured to heat a steel plate, a rolling roll for undercut configured to pressurize the steel plate heated by the first thermal supplier, and to form an undercut on one surface of the steel plate, a first molding roll configured to pressurize the steel plate formed with the undercut to mold the steel plate in a shape of a component to be manufactured, a composite material feeder configured to supply a composite material tape to be seated on one surface of the steel plate formed with the undercut through the first molding roll, and a composite material pressurization roll configured to pressurize the steel plate on which the composite material tape is seated.

An aircraft structure (such as a T-shaped structure, a convex structure, a curved structure, or the like) includes: a laminated structure including composite-material layers that are laminated; and wherein the composite material aircraft structure is a three-dimensional structure that includes at least one of a standing structure, a convex structure, or a curved structure. The composite-material layers include at least a composite-material layer in which a reinforced fiber is a single continuous fiber, wherein the single continuous fiber includes a partial slit region. When a thickness of a flat-plate formed body including a same laminated structure as the aircraft structure but not including the three-dimensional structure, is defined as a reference thickness, the aircraft structure includes a thin plate region which has a thickness that is smaller than the reference thickness while maintaining the laminated structure.

A machine for manufacturing tube elements comprised of tape strips. The machine includes a shaft, a disk mounted to one end of the shaft, a motor coupled to an opposite end of the shaft, and a plate mounted to the shaft. The plate includes a plurality of spools mounted to the plate, where a separate one of the strips is wound on each spool. In one embodiment, the machine further includes a rail positioned adjacent to the disk, a slide slidably secured to the rail and including an end support configured to hold ends of the tape strips, and an indexer configured to pull the slide on the rail away from the disk. The tape strips are unwound from the spools when the indexer pulls the slide in a manner so that the tape strips ride in a spaced apart manner around the disk to form the tube element.

A process for preparing a composite part, the process comprising: recovering unsaturated resin prepreg scrap; combining the recovered unsaturated resin prepreg scrap with a second resinous thermosetting component; and co-molding the prepreg scrap and resinous thermosetting component together under a pressure of 25 to 4000 psi and at a temperature of 100-400 F.