There is provided an automated lamination system for embedding printed electronic element(s) in a composite structure. The automated lamination system includes a supply of composite prepreg material, a layup tool assembly, and a modified automated lamination apparatus laying up layer(s) of the composite prepreg material on the layup tool assembly, to form the composite structure. The modified automated lamination apparatus includes a section preparation pre-printing apparatus preparing section(s) on a top surface of a top layer of the layer(s), to obtain prepared section(s), and includes a non-contact direct write printing apparatus mechanically coupled to the section preparation pre-printing apparatus, and includes one or more supplies of electronic element materials, printed with the non-contact direct write printing apparatus, on each of the prepared section(s), to obtain the printed electronic element(s), that are embedded in the composite structure. The automated lamination system further includes a control system and a power system.

A unitary reinforced composite based panel component, and methods of construction thereof is provided. The unitary reinforced panel component eliminates the need for adhesively joining an offset piece to the backside of a panel, to provide additional reinforcing strength thereby improving efficiency and eliminating bond-line read-through (BLRT). A vehicle component is prepared with resort to a preform made of selective comingled fiber bundle positioning (SCFBP) to selectively place co-mingled fibers that are enriched in carbon fiber as a reinforcement relative to other region that rely on a relatively higher percentage of glass fiber reinforcement to create such a preform.

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 tank including a liner; a reinforcing layer formed of fiber reinforced resin that is arranged on the liner; a label arranged on the reinforcing layer; and a surface layer formed of glass fiber reinforced resin that is arranged to cover the label. The reinforcing layer includes an inner layer, and an outer layer having a cover rate smaller than the inner layer and smaller than 100%, the cover rate being a percentage of a volume occupied by the fiber reinforced resin in space of the reinforcing layer, and the outer layer being arranged on the inner layer, and at least a part of the label is embedded in the reinforcing layer.

A pressure vessel including: a cylindrical straight body section and dome sections provided at both ends of the body section, where: the body section and the dome sections are composed of a resin main body, and an outer shell made of a fiber reinforced resin material, the outer shell being on the outside of the main body; each of dome sections has pinch-off regions extending from a tip of the dome section toward the body section; and when an end of each of the pinch-off regions opposite to the tip of the dome section is located in a region where a distance from the tip of the dome section to the end of each of the pinch-off regions opposite to the tip of the dome section in the axial direction of the straight body section is less than a distance from the tip of each of the dome sections to a boundary between the straight body section of the main body and each of the dome sections in the axial direction of the straight body section.

A construct for a hockey blade that includes a foam core. The foam core includes a first core face, a second core face, and a bottom core edge and a top core edge. Multiple pins are injected into the foam core, and one or more layers of resin preimpregnated tape are wrapped around the foam before forming a hockey blade structure in a heated mold.

A method for bonding a composite material includes impregnating a first composite material containing reinforcing fibers and a second composite material containing reinforcing fibers with a resin and bonding them together. A plurality of protruding members each including a plurality of protrusions protruding in mutually different directions are placed on a surface of the first composite material, and the second composite material is placed where the protruding members are placed. The protruding members are introduced into the interior of the first composite material and the interior of the second composite material while causing the first composite material and the second composite material to come into contact with each other. The first and second composite material are bonded in a state where the protruding members are introduced therein, by curing the resin with which the first and second composite material are impregnated.

An improved liner for a container in which gases, liquids, or powders are stored. The liner is a multi-layer structure made in a roto molding machine. The liner includes a first outer layer made of metallocene polyethylene, an intermediate gas and liquid impermeable layer, and one or more inner layers made of thermoplastic material compatible with the material stored inside the container. During the molding process, the three layers are made sequentially with the second and third layers being bonded and fused to the adjacent layer to form a uniform composite layer. The outer layer is made of metallocene polyethylene with superior rigidity and relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion making the liner less susceptible to cracking and useful as a layup structure for molding a structure around it. The liner is then used as a layup structure for outer fibers and infused resin.

A composite structure includes a first fiber sheet, one or more second fiber sheet overlaying the first fiber sheet, a sensor, and two or more z-pins. The sensor is arranged between the first fiber sheet and the one or more second fiber sheet. The two or more z-pins extend through the first fiber sheet and the one or more second fiber sheet and are distributed about a periphery of the sensor to fix the one or more second fiber sheet to the first fiber sheet about the periphery of the sensor. Sensor arrangements and methods of making composite structures are also described.

An in-situ melt processing method for forming a fiber thermoplastic resin composite overwrapped workpiece, such as a composite overwrapped pressure vessel. Carbon fiber, or other types of fiber, are combined with a thermoplastic resin system. The selected fiber tow and the resin are prepared for impregnation of the tow by the resin. The resin is melted; and, carbon fiber is impregnated with the melted resin at the filament winding machine delivery head. The molten state of the composite is maintained and is applied, in the molten state, to the heated surface of a workpiece. The portion of the surface being wrapped is heated to the melting point of the thermoplastic resin so that the molten composite more efficiently adheres to the heated surface of the workpiece and so that the uppermost layer of fiber resin composite is molten when overwrapped resulting in better adherence of successive layers to one another.