Shifting is a method for manipulating unidirectional non-crimp fabrics that allows for a curved fiber path along with compound surface geometry. The bases for shifting is understanding unidirectional (UD) non-crimp-fabrics (NCFs) as a semi-flexible prismatic linkage and planning manipulations such that the array of linkages can conform to the surface geometry and path plan within allowable manufacturing tolerances. This has applications in structural composite components such as the current trailing edge prefabricated unidirectional components for wind turbine blades, and for future wind turbine blade designs including a curve-linear spar cap.

A fiber reinforced resin hollow molded body 30 in which a resin-integrated fiber sheet is used. The resin-integrated fiber sheet includes unidirectional continuous fibers that are spread fibers of a continuous fiber group and arrayed unidirectionally in parallel, and thermoplastic resin that is present at least on a surface of the unidirectional continuous fibers. In the hollow molded body, in a state where the resin-integrated fiber sheet or a plurality of the resin-integrated fiber sheets 30 are stacked, the resin-integrated fiber sheet or the plurality of resin-integrated fiber sheets are wound to produce a wound body having an overlapping portion. The thermoplastic resin is impregnated in the unidirectional continuous fibers. The resin-integrated fiber sheet or the plurality of resin-integrated fiber sheets are consolidated.

A three-dimensional fibrous preform of a fan blade includes a blade root and a blade airfoil between the blade root and a free end of the preform. The airfoil has an area with two skins and a longitudinal stiffener between the skins and, in a transverse plane, transverse yarns of the skins woven in pairs in the first and in the second skin either side of the stiffener, the yarns of a first pair of the first skin are separated into two unit yarns at the stiffener, the unit yarns being woven separately with longitudinal yarns, the yarns of a second pair of the second skin are separated into two unit yarns at the stiffener, the yarns being woven separately with longitudinal yarns, and a yarn of each pair cross over each other twice in the stiffener.

A resin-integrated fiber sheet 1 for vacuum forming for producing a fiber reinforced resin molded body through vacuum forming includes: unidirectional continuous fibers 2 that are spread fibers of a continuous fiber group and arrayed in parallel in one direction; bridging fibers 3 lying in directions crossing the unidirectional continuous fibers 2; and thermoplastic resin 4 present on part of the surface of the unidirectional continuous fibers 2 to unify the unidirectional continuous fibers 2 and the bridging fibers 3. A fiber reinforced resin molded body of the present invention is a vacuum formed body in which two or more of the resin-integrated fiber sheets 1 are stacked. A method for producing the molded body of the present invention includes subjecting the resin-integrated fiber sheets 1 to vacuum forming from a lower mold with a vacuum line and pressurizing the sheets with compressed air from an upper mold. Thus, the present invention provides a resin-integrated fiber sheet for vacuum forming having excellent shapeability and avoiding voids, a molded body including the same, and a method for producing the molded body including the same.

System and method for in-process cure monitoring of a material utilizes one or more sensors such as fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) or phase-shifted FBGs (PS-FBGs) and at least one optical line fiber connected to the sensor(s). The sensor(s) and the optical line may be embedded in the material prior to curing the material may comprise a fiber reinforced polymer. Waves are excited into the material during curing thereof to form guided waves that propagate through the material. At least one wave metric of the guided waves is measured utilizing the sensor(s).

A fiber-composite part having one or more electronic components that are located in arbitrary regions of the internal volume of the part are fabricated using a preform charge. The preform charge has a structure that corresponds to that of the mold cavity in which the part is being formed. By incorporating the electronic components in the preform charge, such components are then precisely located, spatially oriented, and constrained, and such location and orientation is maintained during molding to produce a part with the electronic components in the desired locations and orientations within its internal volume.

A wind turbine blade including a shell structure defining a leading edge and a trailing edge, and an upwind shell and a downwind shell joined along at least one of the leading edge or the trailing edge. The shell structure includes an assembly of preformed parts processed into a collection of prefabricated laminates. The invention also includes a method of manufacturing a wind turbine blade, the method includes processing a number of preformed parts into a collection of prefabricated laminates and assembling the collection of prefabricated laminates to build a shell structure defining a leading edge and a trailing edge.

A ball bat includes a continuous tape of fiber material wrapped around the longitudinal axis in a helix extending along the longitudinal axis. Interlaminar interfaces between adjacent turns of the tape are oriented obliquely relative to the longitudinal axis. In some embodiments, the ball bat includes a preform structure, the tape being wrapped around the preform structure. In some embodiments, the ball bat includes a flared element on the preform structure. An end of the continuous tape may be positioned on an angled surface of the flared element. An outer skin may be positioned over the tape. Methods of making ball bats may include attaching a first end of a fiber tape to a flared element on a preform structure or a mandrel and wrapping the fiber tape around the preform structure or mandrel in a helix extending along the longitudinal axis of the preform structure or mandrel.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a composite aircraft window frame; the method comprises the steps of: a) positioning in a mold a preform made of pre-impregnated material including dispersed fibers, with a predefined orientation, in a thermosetting resin matrix; b) closing the mold so as to define a gap between at least one surface of said preform and a portion of said mold; c) injecting thermosetting resin into the closed mold through an inlet opening of the mold itself, so as to fill the gap and completely lap said surface of the preform; and d) applying a uniform hydrostatic pressure on the surface by the injection of the resin.

A manufacturing system includes a cutting machine, an adhesion machine, and a pick-and-place system. The cutting machine sequentially cuts a continuous length of a unidirectional prepreg into prepreg segments. Each prepreg segment has an opposing pair of segment cut edges that are non-parallel to a lengthwise direction of the unidirectional prepreg. The adhesion machine has a conveyor belt and an adhesion station. The pick-and-place system sequentially picks up the prepreg segments from the cutting machine, and places the prepreg segments in end-to-end relation on the conveyor belt, and in an orientation such that the segment cut edges are generally parallel to a lengthwise direction of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt feeds the prepreg segments to the adhesion station. The adhesion station adheres the prepreg segments to a continuous length of a backing material, thereby resulting in a continuous length of a backed cross-ply prepreg.