A fan blade platform is provided. The fan blade platform may include a wall, a first sidewall extending from the flowpath to a circular member, and a second sidewall extending from the flowpath to the circular member. A stiffening member may also extend from the circular member to the flowpath and be formed integrally with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the flowpath.

An elongate central member (including, without limitation, a conduit, cable or wire) has an outer coating or jacket constructed of polymer(s), thermoplastic resin(s) or other protective material. The outer coating or jacket can include at least one engineered area of reduced material, which can be created through the extrusion process or through removal of extruded material in a secondary process, thereby forming at least one intentionally weakened section of the coating or jacket. When desired, the outer coating or jacket can be partially or totally removed without damage to the encased elongate central member.

A composite material structural member including a core member, composite material members, and at least one composite material sheet. The members are disposed around the core member and are adhered to each other to form a hollow space. The composite material sheet is disposed between the core member and the members so as to overlap the bonded portion between the members. The composite material sheet forms a hollow composited structure together with the members.

A method for producing a panel includes steps of providing a core element, covering the core element with a strip of impregnable flexible material that continues beyond the core element, providing a following core element alongside the preceding covered core element on that portion of the strip of flexible material that extends beyond the preceding core element, covering the following core element with a following strip of flexible material that extends beyond the following core element, and repeating each of those steps at least once. The method further includes impregnating the strips of material with a hardenable fluid, and hardening the impregnated strips. Each following strip of flexible material is fitted over the top face of a following core element, as well as over the preceding strip of flexible material extending over the top face of a preceding core element.

The invention relates to a method for producing a rotor blade by arranging foam (23, 24) in a semi-finished product, introducing resin into the foam-containing semi-finished product, and curing the introduced resin while heat is dissipated and a curing temperature distribution is obtained, a first foam (23) being arranged in regions of the semi-finished product with a higher curing temperature, and a second foam (24) in regions with a lower curing temperature, and a foam with a higher temperature resistance than the second foam (24) being chosen as the first foam (23).

A method of forming a reinforced polymeric component includes securing a plurality of pins within a mold and wrapping reinforcing fibers around the pins to form a web of reinforcing fibers. The web of reinforcing fibers has a plurality of layers. The method of forming a reinforced polymeric component further includes adding a polymer to the mold and processing the polymer to form a molded polymeric component that contains the pins and the web of reinforcing fibers. A reinforced polymeric component includes a web of reinforcing fibers wrapped around a plurality of pins. The web of reinforcing fibers includes a plurality of layers. The reinforced polymeric component further includes a molded and processed polymer containing the web of reinforcing fibers and pins.

A composite core material and methods for making same are disclosed herein. The composite core material comprises mineral filler discontinuous portions disposed in a continuous encapsulating resin. Further, the method for forming a composite core material comprises the steps of forming a mixture comprising mineral filler, an encapsulating prepolymer, and a polymerization catalyst; disposing the mixture onto a moving belt; and polymerizing said encapsulating prepolymer to form a composite core material comprising mineral filler discontinuous portions disposed in a continuous encapsulating resin.

A composite stiffener is fabricated using preforms of laminated, unidirectional composite tape. The stiffener includes a void that is reinforced by a filler wrapped with a structural adhesive. The surfaces of the preforms surrounding the void include a layer of composite fabric which is bonded to the filler by the adhesive, thereby increasing the toughness of stiffeners around the void and improving pull-off strength of the stiffener.

A impact resistant rim is configured to soften or minimize an impact, thereby reducing the risk of pinching or otherwise flattening the tire and/or damaging the rim. This impact resistant rim further reduces the effects of an impact by maintaining the integrity of the rim during and following the impact. In this rim design, a shock absorbing cord is inlaid, molded, an/or otherwise embedded inside opposing leading edges of the rim. The shock absorbing cord is designed to elastically and/or plastically deform during an impact.

A composite structure includes a first face sheet, a second face sheet, and a foam member located between the first face sheet and the second face sheet. The foam member has a molded contour, the mold contour being configured to provide tooling surface for at least one of the first face sheet and the second face sheet prior to curing of the composite structure. A method of making the foam member includes creating a mold tool having an interior surface which resembles the desired outer contour of the foam member. A mixture is poured into a pour opening in the mold tool. The mixture is allowed to polymerize into a foam as the foam expands and distributes within the mold tool. Vent openings in the mold tool are selectively tailored to control the density of the foam member. The foam member is cured in the mold tool.