Provided is a method for preparing a carbon nanotube/polymer composite material, including: coating a nano-silicon oxide film on the surface of a porous polymer by vacuum coating; depositing a metal catalyst nano-film on the nano-silicon oxide film by vacuum sputtering; growing a carbon nanotube array in situ on the surface of the porous polymer by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition to obtain a carbon nanotube/polymer porous material; and impregnating the carbon nanotube/polymer porous material with a polymer and curing to obtain the carbon nanotube/polymer composite material. By using a heat-resistant polymer having a high heat-resistant temperature and a PECVD technique, a carbon nanotube array directly grows in situ on the surface of a polymer at a low temperature, which thereby overcomes the defects of the composites previously prepared, in which carbon nanotubes are difficult to be homogeneously dispersed and the interfacial bonding force in the composites is weak.

Methods for manufacturing a turbomachine composite part, such as a fan blade, are provided. The composite part has a fibrous structure with a three-dimensional fibrous preform coated with a surface fibrous web, and which is embedded in a polymer matrix The methods include: forming the surface web in a cavity of a mold in order to shape it, wetting and forming the preform on the surface web in order to shape it, and closing the mold, drying the fibrous structure, and injecting thermosetting resin into the mold in order to form said polymer matrix. The surface web is wetted before and/or during the forming thereof.

A reinforced composite assembly includes a first sheet made of carbon fiber and having a first perimeter, a second sheet made of a non-carbon fiber material and having a second perimeter, wherein the second sheet is disposed atop the first sheet within the first perimeter, and a metallic plate having a third perimeter, wherein the metallic plate is disposed atop the second sheet within the second perimeter. The metallic plate has a plurality of holes formed therein about a perimeter of the metallic plate and defining a plurality of respective bridge portions between each of the holes and an adjacent outer edge of the metallic plate, and/or a plurality of extensions extending outward from a main portion of the metallic plate. A first arrangement of thread stitching secures each of the bridge portions and extensions to the second sheet or to the first and second sheets.

Methods and apparatus for automating the fiber laying process during the repair of composite structures made of fiber-reinforced plastic material based on the three-dimensional printing technique. Continuous fiber rovings (e.g., carbon fibers) impregnated with liquid epoxy can be directly printed onto the damaged surface of the composite structure (e.g., an aircraft component made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic) without human manipulation in an autonomous manner.

An object including a. a fiber reinforced plastic and b. a ceramic material, wherein the ceramic material is prepared by plasma electrolytic oxidation of aluminium. A process for the preparation of the object, including the steps of a. providing aluminium, a fiber reinforced plastic and a resin, or providing aluminium and a precursor of a fiber reinforced plastic comprising fibers and a resin, b. treating, at least partially, the aluminium with plasma electrolytic oxidation to provide a ceramic material, c. attaching the ceramic material to the fiber reinforced plastic with the resin, or attaching the ceramic material to the fibers with the resin, d. curing the resin to provide the object including the fiber reinforced plastic and the ceramic material at least partly bound to the fiber reinforced plastic.

A method of forming a sandwich structure including at least partially filling an open volume of an open cellular core with a sacrificial mold material, consolidating the sacrificial mold material to form a sacrificial mold, laying up a composite facesheet on each of at least two surfaces of the open cellular core, co-curing the composite facesheets by applying a consolidation temperature and a compaction pressure to the composite facesheets to form the sandwich structure, and removing the sacrificial mold. The compaction pressure is greater than a compressive strength of the open cellular core and less than a combined compressive strength of the open cellular core and the sacrificial mold.

A reinforced composite assembly includes a first sheet made of carbon fiber and having a first perimeter, a second sheet made of a non-carbon fiber material and having a second perimeter, wherein the second sheet is disposed atop the first sheet within the first perimeter, and a metallic plate having a third perimeter, wherein the metallic plate is disposed atop the second sheet within the second perimeter. The metallic plate has a plurality of holes formed therein about a perimeter of the metallic plate and defining a plurality of respective bridge portions between each of the holes and an adjacent outer edge of the metallic plate, and/or a plurality of extensions extending outward from a main portion of the metallic plate. A first arrangement of thread stitching secures each of the bridge portions and extensions to the second sheet or to the first and second sheets.

A tube assembly including a cross-linked polyethylene tube having a radial projection and a coupler, and a method for forming the tube assembly. A forming assembly is configured to dispose the radial projection of the cross-linked polyethylene tube through the coupler after the completion of the cross-linking process.

A method of reversible bonding based on deposition of a coating capable of an indefinite number of reversible bonding cycles as enable by bond exchange reactions is provided. This is accomplished by deposition of crosslinkable aromatic polyester oligomers on a substrate. The coated article is heated to produce a fully thermoset network by condensation reactions. The fully thermoset network has access to a type of bond exchange reaction within the resin that permits the dynamic exchange of ester bonds within the resin. To execute the bonding step a source of heat is applied at a pressure. To debond, there is applied force in tension and/or shear that causes the coating to fail. The reversibility of the process is contingent on the cohesive (rather than adhesive) failure of the coating—that is, the coating must not delaminate from the substrate. Failure must occur in the resin of the reversible coating.

A landing gear system includes a composite tube. The composite tube comprises at least one of (i) a filament wound composite tube, (ii) a filament braided tube, and (iii) a composite tube of laid up filament. The landing gear system further comprises a first lug cluster mounted to the composite tube and a second lug cluster mounted to the composite tube. The first lug cluster and the second lug cluster are oriented at an angle to one another.