In a method for producing a fiber-reinforced composite material, the fiber-reinforced composite material is formed by impregnating a reinforcing fiber sheet with a resin and curing the resin. The method includes: storing the reinforcing fiber sheet in a cavity of a forming mold; and impregnating the reinforcing fiber sheet with the resin by injecting the resin into the cavity of the forming mold, and curing the resin. In the impregnating and curing, the resin containing a magnetic powder is injected into the cavity, and a magnetic field is generated in the cavity to cause the resin containing the magnetic powder to flow.

A reinforced fiber substrate in which a plurality of thermally fusible binders are disposed on a surface thereof, a sum of areas of thermally fusible binders having a projected area equivalent circle diameter less than 300 times the average diameter of reinforced fibers constituting the reinforced fiber substrate is 10% or less of the total area of the thermally fusible fibers disposed on the surface. The reinforced fiber substrate imparts excellent shape retaining property and property to be impregnated with a matrix resin to a shaping fabric and exhibits excellent productivity.

An apparatus and method for the automated manufacturing of three-dimensional (3D) composite-based objects is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a material feeder, a printer, a powder system, a transfer system, and optionally a fuser. The method comprises inserting a stack of substrate sheets into a material feeder, transferring a sheet of the stack from the material feeder to a printer, depositing fluid on the single sheet while the sheet rests on a printer platen, transferring the sheet from the printer to a powder system, depositing powder onto the single sheet such that the powder adheres to the areas of the sheet onto which the printer has deposited fluid, removing any powder that did not adhere to the sheet, optionally melting the powder on the substrate, and repeating the steps for as many additional sheets as required for making a specified 3D object.

Various embodiments of a strength enhancing pre-form material ply layer which include a fibrous laminar base-ply substrate comprising a plurality of crossed elements forming a plurality of interstices; a thin adhesive sizing layer disposed on surfaces of the fibrous laminar base-ply substrate such that the plurality of interstices remain open to receive embedded fibers; and a plurality of reinforcing fibers are disclosed. These layers can be assembled into an Organic Polymer Laminar Composite (OPLC) structure, the reinforcing fibers impart greatly improved inter-laminar shear strength and toughness to the OPLC final structures.

Methods and systems for ultrasound data processing are provided. One method includes acquiring channel ultrasound data from a plurality of channel connected to a plurality of elements of an ultrasound probe and storing the channel ultrasound data from the plurality of channels. The method further includes generating ultrasound images based on processing of the acquired channel ultrasound data and displaying the ultrasound images. The method also includes performing additional processing on the stored channel ultrasound data while the ultrasound images are displayed and displaying updated ultrasound images generated by the additional processing.

Systems and methods are provided for fabrication of short-fiber composites. One embodiment is a method for forming a short-fiber composite. The method includes forming a bed of randomly oriented dry fibers on a base, drawing resin into the bed in response to pressure to form a mixture of randomly oriented fibers impregnated with thermoset resin, perturbing the mixture while preserving fiber length at the mixture and degassing the mixture, and extruding the mixture to form a preform.

A sheet-like reinforcing fiber base material reduces waste in production of a fiber-reinforced resin molded product and has a small position shift of a reinforcing fiber base material for reinforcement, as well as a preform and a fiber-reinforced resin molded product. The sheet-like reinforcing fiber base material is configured to maintain a sheet-like form by arraying and arranging reinforcing fiber bundles such that longitudinal directions thereof are one identical direction and restraining positions of adjacent reinforcing fiber bundles with respect to each other. In the sheet-like reinforcing fiber base material, the placement amount of reinforcing fibers is partly increased, such that the placement weight of reinforcing fibers per unit area is non-uniform.

Methods of making prepregs are described. The methods include the steps of forming a fiber-containing substrate, and contacting the fiber-containing substrate with a resin mixture. The resin mixture may include polymer particles mixed in a liquid medium, and the polymer particles may be coated on the fiber-containing substrate to form a coated substrate. The liquid medium may be removed from the coated substrate to form the prepreg. The prepregs may be used to make fiber-reinforced articles.

To provide a polyarylene sulfide (PAS) resin composition and a PAS resin molded article that are excellent in mechanical strengths such as impact resistance while maintaining excellent heat resistance of the PAS resin, and methods for producing the PAS resin composition and the PAS resin molded article. Specifically, provided are a method for producing a long fiber-reinforced PAS resin molded article, the method including obtaining a long fiber-reinforced PAS resin composition containing a PAS resin and a fiber reinforcing material having a fiber length of more than 5 mm, subsequently subjecting the resin composition and a PAS resin to dry blending, and subsequently subjecting the dry-blended substance to melting and subsequently to melt-molding; the long fiber-reinforced PAS resin composition; and a method for producing the long fiber-reinforced PAS resin composition.

Provided are a carbon fiber composite material and a producing method thereof comprising an adhesive layer having excellent conductivity and high peeling strength. A carbon fiber composite material according to the present application includes a first carbon fiber dispersion layer having carbon fibers dispersed in a thermosetting resin, a carbon nanotube dispersion layer having carbon nanotubes dispersed in a thermosetting resin, and a second carbon fiber dispersion layer having carbon fibers dispersed in a thermosetting resin, wherein the carbon nanotube dispersion layer is arranged between the first carbon fiber dispersion layer and the second carbon fiber dispersion layer, and the carbon nanotubes in the carbon nanotube dispersion layer are arranged in close contact with the carbon fibers of the first carbon fiber dispersion layer and the carbon fibers of the second carbon fiber dispersion layer.