A pumpable crib bag may include a body defining a longitudinal axis, at least one reinforcing wire helically extending about the longitudinal axis and along a length of the body, and at least one pocket configured to hold the at least one reinforcing wire therein. The at least one reinforcing wire may include a first material and a second material.

A method of joining overlapping thermoplastic roofing membrane components in which a first thermoplastic roofing membrane component and a second roofing membrane component are positioned in overlapping relationship between a pair of complementary molding surfaces. Heat is generated in a metal substrate and transferred by thermal conduction from the metal substrate to overlapping portions of the first and second thermoplastic roofing membrane components to locally melt and coalesce a portion or more of the thermoplastic material of the first thermoplastic roofing membrane component and a portion or more of the thermoplastic material of the second thermoplastic roofing membrane component. The molten thermoplastic material of the first and second thermoplastic roofing membrane components forms a zone of coalesced thermoplastic material that, upon cooling, forms a solid weld joint.

A method for forming a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic control surface may comprise: stacking plies of thermoplastic composite sheets to a first desired thickness to form a first skin; stacking plies of thermoplastic composite sheets to a second desired thickness to form a second skin; forming the first skin in a first contour; forming the second skin in a second contour; forming a stiffening member including a thermoplastic resin, the stiffening member including a shape having a plurality of peaks and troughs; assembling the stiffening member between the first skin and the second skin; and joining the stiffening member to the first skin and the second skin.

A method for forming a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic hollow structure may comprise: abutting a first surface of a first flange of a shell and a second surface of a second flange of the shell with a mating component; disposing an end block laterally adjacent to the shell; applying a first load to a sidewall of the shell; applying a second load to the second flange of the shell; and vibrating one of the shell or the mating component while keeping a non-vibrating component stationary, the non-vibrating component including one of the shell or the mating component.

A method of directly joining a polymer to a metal along a joint interface through the formation of C—O—M chemical bonds, where M represents an element in the metal to be joined. The method includes heating the metal to a predetermined temperature above a glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than a flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than a metal melting temperature of the metal; and applying force to the joint interface of the metal and the polymer to generate intimate atomic contact between the metal and the polymer to create C—O—M chemical bonds between the metal and the polymer.

An electroweldable saddle-type fitting having a saddle-type wall that defines on opposite sides a convex surface and a concave surface is provided. The wall has a predetermined curvature radius able to be coupled with the curvature radius of the heat-sealable pipe section, and is associated with a first electric wire winding, associated with the convex side and bearing a first pair of electric terminals arranged on the concave side for the application of an electric current for heat fusion of the saddle-type wall. The fitting also has a cylindrical sleeve made of heat-fusible material, provided with a further electric wire winding bearing a further pair of electric terminals for the application of an electric current, and are arranged on the concave side of the wall. The further electric wire winding is arranged on the inner surface of the cylindrical sleeve to apply an electric current for heat fusion of the cylindrical sleeve on a heat-sealable by-pass pipe.

A method of directly joining a polymer to a metal along a joint interface through the formation of C—O-M chemical bonds, where M represents an element in the metal to be joined. The method includes heating the metal to a predetermined temperature above a glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than a flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than a metal melting temperature of the metal; physically contacting at least one of the metal and the polymer; and applying compression pressure to the joint interface of the metal and the polymer when the metal is above the glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than the flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than the metal melting temperature of the metal to generate intimate atomic contact between the metal and the polymer to create C—O-M chemical bonds between the metal and the polymer.

A wire embedding system and methods are presented. A wire is embedded in a substrate at predetermined locations in a series of sequential embedding instances using heat and pressure. The heat and pressure are removed from the wire in between the series of sequential embedding instances.

A nested balloon is provided where each balloon is formed from tubing that optimizes the inner wall stretch thus providing maximum balloon strength. The high pressure, nested balloon is provided with layers that allow for slipping, such that the balloon has a very high pressure rating and toughness, yet excellent folding characteristics. Methods for producing such nested balloons using existing balloon forming equipment are also provided. The nested balloons can have layers with low-friction surfaces. The nested balloons are preferably manufactured using a variety of methods, including pressurized constrained annealing.

A non-woven textile may be formed from a plurality of thermoplastic polymer filaments. The non-woven textile may have a first region and a second region, with the filaments of the first region being fused to a greater degree than the filaments of the second region. A variety of products, including apparel (e.g., shirts, pants, footwear), may incorporate the non-woven textile. In some of these products, the non-woven textile may be joined with another textile element to form a seam. More particularly, an edge area of the non-woven textile may be heatbonded with an edge area of the other textile element at the seam. In other products, the non-woven textile may be joined with another component, whether a textile or a non-textile.