A method of making a composite pipe has the steps of (a) providing one or more sources of composite tape, the composite tape being formed of reinforcing fibres embedded in a thermoplastic matrix; (b) helically winding the composite tape(s) around a cylinder under the application of heat to form a pipe comprising fused, concentric layers of adjacently positioned, helically-wound composite tape; (c) scanning a region where edges of wound composite tape are expected to be, to generate scanning information; (d) controlling the gap between further adjacent windings by (1) using the scanning information to determine wound composite tape edge position(s), and (2) using the determined wound composite tape edge position(s) to adjust the winding process during winding; (e) repeating steps (c) and (d). The invention also relates to a corresponding apparatus for making a composite pipe.

A method for producing a high-pressure tank that can reduce the positional deviation of a wound fiber bundle. In the method for producing the high-pressure tank, the fiber bundle impregnated with an uncured thermosetting resin is wound around a liner for housing gas so as to form, on the liner, a reinforcing layer with a plurality of fiber-reinforced resin layers. The method for producing the high-pressure tank includes pressing an edge portion on at least one side along the longitudinal direction of the fiber bundle in the width direction of the fiber bundle to deform the edge portion so as to protrude in the thickness direction of the fiber bundle and thermally curing the thermosetting resin in the edge portion deformed so as to form a protruding portion in the edge portion, and forming the fiber-reinforced resin layers with the fiber bundle with the edge portion deformed.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a heatable media line (100), in particular for conducting and simultaneously reheating brewing water or a freshly brewed hot beverage (1) in a hot-beverage dispensing machine (1000). According to the invention, along a hose line (2), at least one heat transfer foil which homogenizes the heat transfer via the hose line surface and which is composed of a material with a thermal conductivity at 0° C. of λ>10 W/mK, preferably λ>50 W/mK, is wound onto the outside, and an electrical heating medium is applied to the heat transfer foil, which electrical heating medium serves for heating the hose line surface.

Methods and systems are disclosed for encasing various structures with a seamless continuous sleeve, where the presence of existing supports does not allow slipping a sleeve over the structure. In these methods strips of fabrics smeared with or saturated by resin are helically or non-helically wrapped or placed around desired shape mandrels that are located around a support of the structure. As the resin is partially cured, a portion of the sleeve segment is moved away from the mandrel, leaving the rest of the sleeve on the mandrel to be attached to the next will-be-fabricated sleeve segment. The process will continue as many times as needed to create a sleeve of a desired length. In various embodiments the strength of the sleeves varies at different locations. In some embodiments the gaps between the sleeves and the structures are filled with gas, liquid, solid, or any other materials.

Provided are a method for manufacturing a structural body and a structural body, the structural body formed of FRP and having a high degree of freedom in cross-sectional shape even at a low cost. The method for manufacturing a structural body includes a winding step of forming a cylindrical laminate body LM by winding a plurality of composite materials including reinforcing fibers and an uncured thermosetting resin around a hollow cylindrical core member CY; a compressing step of winding a tape or film around an outer circumference of the laminate body LM and compressing the same; a preheating step of heating the laminate body LM until a state prior to complete curing of the thermosetting resin; and a main heating step of arranging the laminate body LM around which the tape or film is wound and the cylindrical core member in a molding die and pressing the same to thereby heat the laminate body LM until the thermosetting resin is completely cured while deforming the cylindrical core member CY to a non-circular cross-sectional shape. Thereby, a structural body in which the cylindrical core member CY and the laminate body LM are integrated can be formed.

Multi-ply, hybrid composite materials useful in the formation of thin walled, hollow, tubular articles having improved resistance to hoop stress. Two different, single-ply pre-pregs are impregnated with binders and laminated together with the fibers of the layers oriented at a bias relative to each other. The hybrid composite is rolled into a tubular article having excellent strength uniformity along the full length of the tubular article.

A helical winding unit is provided with a frame member in which a plurality of nozzle attachment units are provided to be aligned in a circumferential direction about an axis of a liner; nozzle units that each have a guide body movable in a radial direction of the liner and rotatable about a rotating axis extending in the radial direction, and that are attachable to and detachable from the nozzle attachment units; a moving endless toothed annular body that transmits, commonly to one or more nozzle units attached to one or more nozzle attachment units, power for moving the guide body in the radial direction; and a rotating endless toothed annular body that transmits, commonly to one or more nozzle units attached to one or more nozzle attachment units, power for rotating the guide body about the rotating axis.

Helically reinforced, flexible tubing or hose is formed from continuously extruded thermoplastic material helically circumferentially wound at a wrapping station around an array of bearing-supported rods that are concurrently but individually turned and are adjustably canted relative to an imaginary center axis. The tubing or hose being formed has a continuous reinforcing rib helically wound therearound and continuously integrally connected thereto. The resulting tubing or hose may be transversely severed at intervals along its length to provide discrete lengths of hose that are annealed while axially compressed to relieve stress.

An elongate tubular shaft body having a stack of wrapped layers of fibrous reinforcement in a resin matrix, a portion of the stack of wrapped layers circumferentially surrounding a first surface part of a fibrous layer has a non-constant width which varies non-linearly with a change in radius of an inner elongate circumferential surface in the portion, and wherein the fibrous reinforcement has fibres that are, along the length of the elongate tubular body, constantly oriented with respect to a cylindrical coordinate system about the longitudinal axis of the elongate tubular body, the fibre orientation in any said portion being independent of the geometry of the inner and outer elongate circumferential surfaces of that portion.

An apparatus and a method enable continuous production of a reinforced plastic pipe using a transfer film. The transfer film moves at a predetermined speed in the longitudinal direction and is arranged to be in close contact with a circumferential surface of a base mold which winds glass fiber wound around the outer circumferential surface thereof using a filament winding method to mold a reinforced plastic pipe, such that the reinforced plastic pipe molded with the moving transfer film is moved forward, thereby being capable of continuously producing a reinforced plastic pipe with a desired length without breakage. The apparatus includes a rotary axial pipe; a base mold; a transfer film feeding part; and a transfer film withdrawing part. The method for continuously producing a reinforced plastic pipe includes a transfer film adhering step; a transfer film forced moving step; and a pipe cutting and separating step.