Fabrication of ballistic resistant fibrous composites having improved ballistic resistance properties. More particularly, ballistic resistant fibrous composites having high interlaminar lap shear strength between component fiber plies or fiber layers, which correlates to low composite backface signature. The high lap shear strength, low backface signature composites are useful for the production of hard armor articles, including helmet armor.

A method of producing a composite panel is described. The method includes the steps of (a) placing a veneer in a mold, (b) dispensing an expandable foam onto the veneer in the mold; (c) placing a cover over the expandable foam in the mold, wherein the cover is placed over the expandable foam prior to the foam expanding; and (d) allowing the foam to expand in the mold. The expansion of the foam is restricted by the closed mold to produce a composite panel containing expanded foam layer having a density of at least 6 pounds/ft.sup.3.

The present invention relates to a sound absorbing and insulating material with improved heat resistance and moldability and a method for manufacturing the same, more particularly to a sound absorbing and insulating material having, as a surface layer, a heat-resistant material prepared by impregnating a binder into a nonwoven fabric formed of a heat-resistant fiber stacked on one side of a base layer formed of a conventional sound absorbing and insulating material, and a method for manufacturing the same. The sound absorbing and insulating material of the present invention is a conventional sound absorbing and insulating material has improved sound-absorbing property, flame retardancy, heat-insulating property and heat resistance as compared to the conventional sound absorbing and insulating material, is applicable to parts maintained at high temperatures of 200? C. or higher due to the surface layer and is moldable into a desired shape during the curing of the binder impregnated into the surface layer. Therefore, the sound absorbing and insulating material of the present invention can be widely used in industrial fields requiring sound absorbing and insulating materials, including electric appliances such as an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a lawn mower and the like, transportation such as an automobile, a ship, an airplane and the like, construction materials such as a wall material, a flooring material and the like, and so forth.

Fabrication of ballistic resistant fibrous composites having improved ballistic resistance properties. More particularly, ballistic resistant fibrous composites having enhanced a dynamic storage modulus, which correlates to low composite backface signature.

A process for the production of a polymeric article directed to (a) forming a ply having successive layers, namely, (i) a first layer made up of strands of an oriented polymer material; (ii) a second layer of a polymeric material; (iii) a third layer made up of strands of an oriented polymeric material, wherein the second layer has a lower peak melting temperature that of the first and third layers; (b) subjecting the ply to conditions of time, temperature, and pressure sufficient to melt a proportion of the firsts layer to melt the second layer entirely, and to melt a proportion of the third layer, and to compact the ply; and (c) cooling the compacted ply. The resultant articles have good mechanical properties yet may be made at a lower compaction temperature than articles not employing the second layer, leading to a more controllable manufacturing process.

A cushion and system and method of manufacturing a cushion. The cushion includes a layer that is disposed on a side of a filament mesh structure that comprises a set of filaments. Each member of the set of filaments is looped and bonded to at least one other member of the set of filaments. The layer is bonded to at least some members of the set of filaments.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure pertains to a method of recycling that includes applying an electromagnetic field to a composite material having carbon fiber therein, heating the composition, degrading a matrix of the composite material, and recovering the carbon fiber from the composite material. In an additional embodiment, the present disclosure pertains to a method of non-contact recycling that includes applying an electromagnetic field to a composite material having carbon fiber therein with an electromagnetic applicator via at least one of direct current or alternating current, heating the composition, degrading a matrix of the composite material, and recovering the carbon fiber from the composite material. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic field is applied in a non-contact manner. In some embodiments, the heating is locally induced heating that includes increasing the temperature inside the composite material via an inside-out method thereby initiating pyrolysis within the composite material.

Steam heating and molding of single or multilayer nonwoven materials, particularly suitable for the formation of three-dimensionally shaped automotive sound insulators.

There is provided a shaped product made of a fiber-reinforced composite material including reinforcing fibers having an average length of 5 mm or more and 100 mm or less and a thermoplastic resin, in which a volume fraction of reinforcing fibers (Vf=100volume of reinforcing fibers/(volume of reinforcing fibers+volume of thermoplastic resin)) is 5 to 80%, grains are formed on a surface of the shaped product, and a ratio of a reinforcing fiber bundle (A) including the reinforcing fibers of a critical number of single fiber or more, the critical number defined by Formula (1), to the total amount of the reinforcing fibers is 20 Vol % or more and 99 Vol % or less:
Critical number of single fiber=600/D(1) (wherein D is an average fiber diameter (m) of single reinforcing fiber).

The present invention relates to a sound absorbing and insulating material and a method for manufacturing the same, more particularly to a sound absorbing and insulating material obtained by impregnating a polyimide binder into a nonwoven fabric formed of a heat-resistant fiber, having superior sound-absorbing property, flame retardancy, heat resistance and heat resistance, thus being applicable to parts maintained at high temperatures of 300 C. as well as at room temperature and moldability due to the use of the polyimide binder, and a method for manufacturing the same.