The invention relates to an impregnation mould for manufacturing a turbine engine part, made of composite material, obtained from a preform made of a weave of fibres, said mould having first and second portions provided with respective recesses that define a cavity capable of receiving the preform, in which at least one injection means of the mould allows a resin to be injected in order to impregnate said preform, wherein said at least one injection means has a plurality of tubular injection needles, which are capable of extending from at least one of the first and second recesses to penetrate at least the weave of the preform in order to allow resin to be injected.

Disclosed are processes and systems for degassing liquid resin. Resin is provided at a resin inlet and pumped into a first duct using a resin pump to achieve a first absolute pressure of at least 1.6 bar in the first duct; the resin pump and/or a flow control valve are configured to achieve a first pressure drop across the flow control valve of at least 1.5 bar; a second duct communicates the resin from the flow control valve to a storage tank; a gas evacuation system maintains a pressure in the storage tank below 100 mbar at least partly concurrently with pumping resin into the first duct.

A system and method for thermoplastic composite processing including compressing and heating a thermoplastic composite panel having a plurality of terminal edges. The method further includes heating the thermoplastic composite panel to a melting temperature to create a melt front of the thermoplastic composite panel at a first location and heating the thermoplastic composite panel to the melting temperature in a pre-determined pattern from the first location toward the terminal edges of the thermoplastic composite panel. Extending the melt front toward the terminal edges in this way causes air constrained within the thermoplastic composite panel to escape the thermoplastic composite panel through unmelted portions of the thermoplastic composite panel located between the melt front and the terminal edges. Cooling of the panel may be similarly conducted, cooling a first region and then gradually continuing to cool the panel in a direction toward one or more of the terminal edges.

A resin barrier device for connection in a vacuum line, for use in resin infusion during composite manufacture, includes a housing having an inlet port for connection to a resin source and an outlet port for connection to a vacuum source. A flow path extends between the inlet and outlet ports. A gas-permeable membrane is disposed across the flow path to prevent resin from flowing to the vacuum pump. A gasket supports the membrane and is adapted to prevent resin leakage. A method of infusing a preform with a resin also is provided.

A method and apparatus for constructing a tubular assembly 40 comprising an inner portion (24) and a further portion (23) surrounding the inner portion. The inner portion (24) comprises reinforcement (37) and the further portion (23) being formed from a strip (50) of material comprising two opposed longitudinal marginal side portions (53). The apparatus comprises an assembly station (220) comprising a wall (253). The apparatus comprises means for advancing the inner portion (21) along a first path (231) extending passed the wall (253), and means for advancing the strip (50) along a second path (232) and causing the strip to encircle the wall (253) and thereby wrap about and surround the inner portion (21). The apparatus further comprises means (321) for introducing resinous binder into the reinforcement (37) as the strip (50) is being wrapped about the inner portion (21).

A system for infusing liquid resin into a sheet of fibrous material comprises a tool and a permeable media layer, configured to have the sheet therebetween. The system further comprises a non-permeable bladder, configured to be sealed to the tool about the sheet of fibrous material and the permeable media layer such that the sheet of fibrous material and the permeable media layer are sealed between the non-permeable bladder and the tool. The system additionally comprises an inlet, selectively fluidically coupleable with the permeable media layer to deliver liquid resin to the permeable media layer. The system also comprises an outlet, selectively fluidically coupleable with the permeable media layer to create a pressure differential across the non-permeable bladder. The system further comprises a permeability control valve, selectively operable to adjust the permeability of the permeable media layer.

The invention relates to a resin injection regulator for a resin injection circuit in a mould for producing a composite part, in particular a turbine engine composite part, characterised in that it comprises at least one vessel which is connected to said circuit and inside of which a movable wall means can be moved in a sealed manner, said movable wall means defining in said vessel a first cavity which forms a container for accumulation of resin and is designed to be connected to at least one part of said circuit, and a second cavity which is designed to be connected to a source of pressurised fluid, said movable wall means being designed to be urged by the pressurised fluid with which the second cavity is supplied in order to exert a pressure on the resin contained in the first cavity by isolating said resin from said fluid.

Described are methods and systems for a composite structure that allows for out of autoclave curing. Due to the layout of the composite structure, voids within the composite structure, formed out of autoclave, is reduced. The composite structure includes a composite laminate and one or more infusion films. The composite laminate includes a plurality of fiber tows that each include a plurality of fiber strands and a resin. The resin has a first viscosity within a first temperature range. The infusion film is disposed on a surface of the composite laminate and has a second viscosity lower than the first viscosity within the first temperature range. Methods of curing the composite structure are also described.

A process for resin transfer molding (RTM) with injection and overflowing of a resin through one or more troughs is provided that includes the injection of resin into a plurality of injection ports feeding the one or more troughs and overflowing the resin in into a mold. The temperature and pressure are controlled as applied to the mold. The injection ports are activated for injecting the resin in any order of individually, in groups, or pairings. A resin transfer molding (RTM) system for performing the process includes a mold having a cavity. A set of injection ports feed one or more continuous channels between the cavity and a reservoir of resin. A numerical controller selectively activates the injection ports to overflow the resin into the cavity in any order of individually, in groups, or pairing.

Systems and methods are provided for fabricating composite parts. One embodiment is a method of fabricating a composite part. The method includes providing a preform on a tool mandrel, positioning sensors around the preform according to a target shape of the composite part, and sealing the preform with a vacuum bag to form a chamber. The method also includes applying temperature and pressure to the chamber to infuse a resin into the preform to create a composite preform undergoing infusion, monitoring a thickness of the composite preform prior to completing cure, and adjusting at least one of the temperature and the pressure prior to completing cure based on the thickness.