A method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade is described, the blade being formed from at least a pair of blade shells being joined together. For at least a portion of the wind turbine blade, the blade shells are joined by an overlamination applied between the edges of the blade shells, thereby substantially reducing or eliminating the need for a structural adhesive to join the blade shells, particularly in the area of the leading edge of the blade or the root region of the blade trailing edge. The overlamination can be formed from the same material as the blade shells themselves, thereby minimising the possibility of structural faults or cracks due to differences in materials or stiffness levels at the interface between the blade shells.

A system using a pressure differential to clamp welding heads on opposite sides of a joint of a thermoplastic composite structure to be welded. The heads are positioned over the joint opposite each other. Each head includes a housing defining a chamber having a lower pressure such that the pressure differential forces the head against the side. Each head includes a contour plate located in the space and against the joint, and at least one of the heads includes a heater located in the space and heating the contour plate to a welding temperature. The system may also include a first arm coupled with one of the heads and moving it along the joint so as to remain aligned with the other head, and a second arm coupled with the other head and moving it along the joint while the system welds the joint in successive overlapping sections.

A process of constructing an air tight and water tight seam, comprising cutting a sheet of selected material into two or more panels, sealing the panels at respective selected edges using an ultrasonic machine to form a seam, overlaying the seam with a tape made of the same selected material, and sealing the tape and seam using a radio frequency (RF) welding machine.

An example method of joining a first structure and a second structure is described that includes placing an adhesive within a bond cavity for bonding a first structure to a second structure, securing a vacuum bag to the first structure and the second structure so as to surround a portion of the first structure and the second structure, evacuating the bond cavity via a vacuum port to deaerate the adhesive within the bond cavity, after deaerating the adhesive, moving the first structure and the second structure relative to one another such that deaerated adhesive is disposed between the first structure and the second structure, and curing, via one or more heaters, the deaerated adhesive disposed between the first structure and the second structure to bond the first structure to the second structure.

A bonding method for bonding an adherend with a high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet is provided. The adherend includes a fluorine-containing surface at least containing fluorine on a surface thereof. The high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet includes a high-frequency dielectric adhesive layer including a thermoplastic resin and a dielectric filler. A surface free energy of the high-frequency dielectric adhesive layer is in a range from 15 mJ/m.sup.2 to 30 mJ/m.sup.2. A melting point of the high-frequency dielectric adhesive layer is in a range from 110 degrees C. to 300 degrees C. The bonding method includes bringing the fluorine-containing surface of the adherend into contact with the high-frequency dielectric adhesive layer and applying a high-frequency wave to the high-frequency dielectric adhesive layer to bond the high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet to the fluorine-containing surface.

A method of joining a non-metallic pipe to a metallic pipe. The pipe may be wrapped with one or more sheets of reinforcement material (e.g., pre-impregnated fiberglass, carbon fiber, or aramid fiber) and then fitted with an adapter or fitting that is connectable to a metallic pipe. The reinforcement material may be heated using a heating apparatus which allows the material to bond to the pipe to strengthen the joint.

A high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet includes an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer contains a thermoplastic resin having a reactive site, a dielectric filler that generates heat upon application of a high-frequency electric field, and a silane coupling agent.

A sheath for an elongated object is made by first combining an adhesive tape comprised of a substrate strip and a first adhesive coating at least partially covering the substrate strip with an adhesive-free band to form a laminate. Then the substrate strip and the band are overlapped at least largely such that, at the overlap, the first adhesive coating is between the substrate strip and the band. Finally the first adhesive coating is formed at the overlap between the substrate strip and the band of a plurality of spaced adhesive substrips.

A high-frequency dielectric heating adhesive sheet includes an adhesive layer that at least contains a thermoplastic resin and a dielectric material that generates heat upon application of a high-frequency electric field. The adhesive layer contains silane-modified polyolefin as the thermoplastic resin, and a melt flow rate (MFR) at 190° C. of the thermoplastic resin is in a range from 2 g/10 min to 50 g/10 min.

An ignition-suppressing tape for sealing cut edges of polymer panels, the tape having a backing strip and a sealant strip that is disposed on a portion of a surface of the backing strip, and a pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on other portions of the same surface of the backing strip.