A structural member (10) comprising: (i) a pultruded secondary member (14) including a first surface and an opposing second surface; and (ii) a molded carrier (12) overmolded onto at least one of the first and second surface of the pultruded secondary member, the molded carrier including a plurality of ribs (16); wherein the secondary member and the carrier are dissimilar materials.

A manufactured building panel having a building panel frame that defines a cavity and having an injection aperture in fluid communication with the cavity, and an expanded foam disposed within and filling the cavity. A fabric covers and is bonded to a front surface and a rear surface of the frame to enclose the cavity. The expanded foam is formed by injecting an expandable polymer through the injection aperture and into the cavity, which expands to fill the cavity and permeate the fabric, and to cure to form the expanded foam that bonds to the frame and the fabric.

A conforming cushion pod contains a plurality of independent and discrete foamed beads. The filling of the cushion pod includes a system comprised of a bead source, a weighing station, a metering station, and a filling station. To further increase efficiency the system may comprise one or more valves that control a direction of bead conveyance allowing for a plurality of filling stations to leverage a common set of stations. The system conveys the beads through the couplings using a fluid introduced by a fluid insertion nozzle. The fluid is effective increase a throughput of the bead conveyance.

In one aspect, a material is disclosed, including: a periodic structure including a plurality of unit cells, the plurality of unit cells having a respective plurality of shared nodes, wherein each of the plurality of unit cells has a plurality of members forming an open cell volume; and a matrix material associated with the periodic structure. In another aspect, a method of forming a material is disclosed, including: forming a periodic structure including a plurality of unit cells, the plurality of unit cells having a respective plurality of shared nodes, wherein each of the plurality of unit cells has a plurality of members forming an open cell volume; and associating a matrix material with the periodic structure. Matrix material selection, composition, manufacturing, interfacial bonding modification, and post-treatments of the periodic structure-matrix material composites are disclosed.

Methods of manufacturing wall structures having high racking strength are described in this specification. The methods include spray applying a foam-forming composition into a cavity of a wall structure, wherein the wall structure is disposed in a climate-controlled spray application station and allowing the foam-forming material to expand within at least a portion of the cavity to form a foam layer deposited in the cavity. In the methods, the foam layer is formed in-situ during the manufacturing method, and the density of the foam layer is selected and the relative humidity and dew point of the air in the climate-controlled spray application station throughout the spray applying is selected so that the wall structure has a racking strength of at least 500 pounds per linear foot.

A structural member (10) comprising: (i) a pultruded secondary member (14) including a first surface and an opposing second surface: and (ii) a molded carrier (12) overmolded onto at least one of the first and second surface of the pultruded secondary member, the molded carrier including a plurality of ribs (16); wherein the secondary member and the carrier are dissimilar materials.

This invention relates to extruded composite materials specifically focusing on the increasing load bearing capacity and the overall strength of composites. Injectable conformable structural core materials are used to replace foam cells inside extruded composite materials thereby increasing the overall load bearing stability and strength. The core materials are tailored to have a desired CTE with respect to the structural materials. The core materials may also incorporate fibers and solid structural fillers for increasing the strength of the composite member. The objective is to enable composite materials to have the highest structural load bearing capability possible so that these technologies can be used as the replacement of wood, in aerospace applications and for other purposes.

In one aspect, a material is disclosed, including: a periodic structure including a plurality of unit cells, the plurality of unit cells having a respective plurality of shared nodes, wherein each of the plurality of unit cells has a plurality of members forming an open cell volume; and a matrix material associated with the periodic structure. In another aspect, a method of forming a material is disclosed, including: forming a periodic structure including a plurality of unit cells, the plurality of unit cells having a respective plurality of shared nodes, wherein each of the plurality of unit cells has a plurality of members forming an open cell volume; and associating a matrix material with the periodic structure. Matrix material selection, composition, manufacturing, interfacial bonding modification, and post-treatments of the periodic structure-matrix material composites are disclosed.

Methods of manufacturing wall structures having high racking strength are described in this specification. The methods include spray applying a foam-forming composition into a cavity of a wall structure, wherein the wall structure is disposed in a climate-controlled spray application station and allowing the foam-forming material to expand within at least a portion of the cavity to form a foam layer deposited in the cavity. In the methods, the foam layer is formed in-situ during the manufacturing method, and the density of the foam layer is selected and the relative humidity and dew point of the air in the climate-controlled spray application station throughout the spray applying is selected so that the wall structure has a racking strength of at least 500 pounds per linear foot.

A building component utilizing a pourable polyurethane or structural foam that can be used for floors, walls, and roof assemblies with a frame with an interior, back or a front, multiple partition beams forming cells in said frame, pourable polyurethane or structural foam exterior backing attached to said frame back. The structural foam is poured into said cells to a desired level, and after said structural foam is poured into said cells, said interior backing is attached to said frame front. Cabling is used to improve movability of the invention, and improve on wind loading and seismic requirements of the present invention. Safety is also improved during the manufacturing process, loading, unloading, and in final assembly through the use of cabling.