Textile compositions comprising at least one filamentous fungus are disclosed, as are methods for making and using such textile compositions. Embodiments of the textile compositions generally include at least one of a plasticizer, a polymer, and a crosslinker, in addition to the filamentous fungus. The disclosed textile compositions are particularly useful as analogs or substitutes for conventional textile compositions, including but not limited to leather.

The invention provides a powder pre-preg comprising as sole resin a vinyl ester resin having a Tg in the range of −5 to +30° C. and a melt viscosity @100° C. in the range of 2 to 75 dPa.Math.s, which can be used in making a composite at a temperature as low as 80° C.

The present invention generally relates to processes for compression molding a composite article comprising at least one prepreg and at least one transformer film.

The invention relates to a device for preparing composite material waste, in particular carbon fiber-reinforced waste, comprising a comminuting assembly (2) for the composite material waste, a downstream temperature control zone (3) for controlling the temperature of the comminuted composite material waste, and a forming unit (4) for producing composite material waste compacts. In order to provide companies without recycling facilities, regardless of the type of composite material waste, with a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to dumping harmful composite material waste in landfills, it is proposed that the comminuting assembly (2), the temperature control zone (3) and the forming unit (4) are arranged in an at least substantially hermetically sealed and transportable working chamber (1).

A method is specified for producing a structural component, in particular for an aircraft, ground vehicle, or watercraft, or for a rotor blade of a wind turbine, in which method an arrangement of fibers and plastic material is laid in a mold and subjected to an increased pressure and an increased temperature, wherein a mold is used which comprises at least one recess in which a reinforcing element is arranged. The object is to be able to cost-effectively produce a structural component of this type. For this purpose, it is provided that the reinforcing element is laid in the recess together with a core, wherein a differential volume between the recess and core, at least in a predetermined region, is chosen such that it is smaller than a segment of the reinforcing element arranged in said region by a predetermined amount.

a method for manufacturing a part made of composite material includes the steps of placing, in a mold, a fibrous preform including reinforcing fibers and being resin-impregnated, positioning a prefabricated element in the mold in contact with the fibrous preform at a predefined location of the fibrous preform, the prefabricated element having a predefined form and being produced in composite material comprising partially polymerized resin, compressing the assembly formed by the fibrous preform and the prefabricated element in the mold, heating the assembly formed by the fibrous preform and the prefabricated element in the mold to polymerize the resin and thus binding the prefabricated element with the fibrous preform in order to form the part made of composite material.

This disclosure relates to an in-mold surfacing film for structural composites, in the form of a thermally curable mul-ti-layer film comprising: (a) a release carrier, (b) a surfacing film layer overlying the release carrier, wherein the surfacing film layer comprises an OH-functional polyurethane and a thermally activatable curing agent which can react with the OH groups at a temperature higher than 120° C., and (c) a release liner. Also disclosed is a method for preparing a composite article in-mold using a prepreg and the multi-layer film.

A method for manufacturing a carbon fiber is provided which involves: (1) immersing a carbon fiber composite material (CFC) in an acidic aqueous solution to elute at least a part of a resin component of the CFC, to thereby obtain a substantially fibrous product; and (2) immersing the substantially fibrous product obtained in step (1) in an alkaline aqueous solution to elute at least a part of a resin component of the substantially fibrous product, to thereby obtain a fibrous product. A method for manufacturing a carbon fiber reinforced resin composition is provided which involves manufacturing a carbon fiber by the above method and manufacturing a carbon fiber reinforced resin composition using the resulting carbon fiber. Using these methods, it is possible to recover and recycle a carbon fiber from a carbon fiber composite material (CFC) at a low cost without deteriorating the carbon fiber.

A thermoplastic prepreg includes a mat, web, or fabric of fibers and hollow glass microspheres that are positioned atop the mat, web, or fabric of fibers or dispersed therein. The thermoplastic prepreg also includes a thermoplastic polymer that is fully impregnated through the mat, web, or fabric of fibers and the hollow glass microspheres so that the thermoplastic prepreg has a void content of less than 3% by volume of the thermoplastic prepreg. The thermoplastic material is polymerized monomers and oligomers in which greater than 90% by weight of the monomers or oligomers react to form the thermoplastic material.

A method of producing a composite material including carbon fiber and a melt-fabricable fluororesin, the method including: (1) preparing a prepreg by heating and compressing a stack of opened carbon fiber and a film of a melt-fabricable fluororesin at a temperature not lower than a melting point of the fluororesin, the film having a back tension set to 3.0 N/cm.sup.2 or less; and (2) preparing a composite material by heating and compressing one or more sheets or pieces of the prepreg stacked in a thickness direction at a temperature not lower than the melting point of the fluororesin.