A rope for reinforcing joints in fibre-reinforced composite structures is described. The rope comprises chopped reinforcement fibres and retaining means for retaining the chopped fibres in a rope-shape. Further, composite structures utilising such ropes as filler elements are described as well as an apparatus for manufacturing such ropes.

A method for producing a hollow composite structure, such as a spar beam for a wind turbine blade, includes placing a membrane within a mold tool, the membrane being permeable to air and impermeable to resin. A mandrel is placed within the mold tool, the mandrel enclosed in an air tight layer that includes a vent. Fiber reinforcement material is placed around the mandrel within the mold tool and the membrane is sealed at least partly around the fiber reinforcement material and mandrel. The mold tool is closed with the vent line from the mandrel extending through the sealed membrane to outside of the mold tool. A vacuum is drawn in the mold tool while the mandrel is vented to outside of the mold tool, and while the vacuum is being drawn, resin is infused into the mold tool around the mandrel such that the resin is drawn towards the membrane.

A wind turbine blade including an elongate reinforcing structure, the reinforcing structure comprising a plurality of strips of fibre-reinforced polymer arranged into a stack structure, and at least one adjacent pair of the plurality of strips including an infusion promoting layer, wherein the infusion promoting layer is a fabric comprising a plurality of twisted yarns. The invention is also expressed as a method of assembling a wind turbine blade.

Disclosed are filament winding processes that use a low viscosity polyurethane-forming composition, systems for making a composites and the composites so made.

A method for manufacturing an aeronautical sandwich panel with a honeycomb core and results in a core sealed to prevent infused resin from entering into the honeycomb core open cells while improving its mechanical properties, especially for curved or highly curved panels. In further embodiments, the invention proposes the automation of this process.

A method for manufacturing a tool including assembling a stack-up that includes a plurality of precured composite laminates, the stack-up having an engagement surface, wherein each precured composite laminate of the plurality of precured composite laminates is flexible, and wherein an adhesive is positioned between adjacent precured composite laminates of the plurality of precured composite laminates, and placing the engagement surface of the stack-up onto a target surface of a substrate.

A multiaxial textile fabric has at least two thread layers and at least one nonwoven layer. Each thread layer is made of multifilament reinforcement yarns arranged parallel to one another and so as to lie adjacently next to one another within the thread layers, wherein at least one thread layer is at least partially directly contacted by the nonwoven layer, and cut-out sections are provided within the nonwoven layer, the cut-out sections having a size of at least 4 mm.sup.2. The multiaxial textile fabric also includes a fiber-reinforced composite material.

A method for fabricating a member in a resin-infusion-based casting process, in which at least one component forming the member is infused with a resin, including the steps: Providing a mold, the at least one component, the resin, at least one measurement device and at least one sensing device, wherein the sensing device has at least one property which changes measurably with temperature and/or when the sensing device comes into contact with the resin, attaching the at least one sensing device to an inner surface of the mold and/or to the component, arranging the component inside the mold, providing the resin to at least one inlet of the mold, and wirelessly measuring and evaluating the property of the sensing device with the measurement device for monitoring a temperature and/or a distribution of the resin in the mold and/or in the component, is provided.

A method of manufacturing a fibre-reinforced polymer object by means of vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM), wherein fibre material is impregnated with liquid resin in a mould cavity comprising a rigid mould part having a mould surface defining an outer surface of the object, is described. One or more pressure sensors are connected to resin inlets of the VARTM system. A control unit is used for controlling a polymer supply unit based on measured resin pressure and is adapted to adjusting a resin flow rate, if pressure measured by the pressure sensors is below a lower threshold level or above a higher threshold level.

A method for producing a component from a fiber-reinforced plastic, wherein at least one ply of a semifinished fiber product having a peripheral contour is applied to the molding tool at a first temperature, wherein the contour lies within the peripheral edge. A compensating body, having a coefficient of thermal expansion which is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the molding tool, is arranged along the peripheral edge, such that the compensating body extends from the edge in the direction of the peripheral contour. After sealing the arrangement, resin is introduced, and the arrangement is heated. As a result, the compensating body expands to a greater extent than the molding tool and encloses the semifinished fiber product in a flush manner, with the result that a shape of the component can correspond to an intended final shape and no longer has to be finish-machined.