The present invention relates to sandwich panels used as aircraft interior parts. In addition to provide a finishing function, the sandwich panels need to have certain mechanical properties and have sufficient fire resistance to retard the spread of fire within the vehicle interior. The present invention provides an aircraft interior panel with skins comprising natural fiber reinforced composites based either on an inorganic thermoset resin or a thermoplastic resin. Such panels provide the required flame and heat resistance, allow easy recycling and disposal, are cheaper and offer significant weight savings over conventional sandwich panels.

A steering wheel is provided with a heater element on the rim. The heater element is mounted at least on a part of a core of the rim, and a cladding layer formed from synthetic resin foam covers an outer circumference of the heater element. The heater element includes a cord-shaped heater and a base material. The base material includes an insulation sheet that is formed from synthetic resin foam and disposed to face towards the core and a permeable sheet that is formed from non-metal which allows permeation of the cladding layer. The insulation sheet and permeable sheet are bonded together and sandwich and support the cord-shaped heater there between.

Structural members having enhanced load bearing capacity per unit mass include a skeleton structure formed from strips of material. Notches may be placed on the strips and a weave of tensile material placed in the notches and woven around the skeleton structure. At least one pair of structural members can be jointed together to provide very strong joints due to a weave patterns of tensile material, such as Kevlar, that distributes stress throughout the structure, preventing stress from concentrating in one area. Methods of manufacturing such structural members include molding material into skeletons of desired cross section using a matrix of molding segments. Total catastrophic failures in composite materials are substantially avoided and the strength to weight ratio of structures can be increased.

A method of partially insulating an interior space of a pre-formed fluted core panel is disclosed herein. The fluted core panel includes a first facesheet, a second facesheet spaced apart from the first facesheet, and webs between the first facesheet and second facesheet. The interior space is defined between the first facesheet, the second facesheet, and adjacent webs. The method includes positioning a spacer in a first portion of the interior space, positioning a membrane between the spacer and a second portion of the interior space, and positioning insulation in the second portion of the interior space. Additionally, the method includes pressing the membrane against the spacer, curing the membrane, and removing the spacer from the first portion of the interior space.

A method of making an aluminum alloy-resin composite and an aluminum alloy-resin composite obtained by the same are provided. The method may comprise: S1: anodizing a surface of an aluminum alloy substrate to form an oxide layer on the surface, in which the oxide layer includes nanopores; S2: immersing the resulting aluminum alloy substrate obtained at step S1 in an alkaline solution having a pH of about 10 to about 13, to form corrosion pores on an outer surface of the oxide layer, wherein the alkaline solution is an aqueous solution including at least one selected from a soluble carbonates, a soluble alkali, a soluble phosphate, a soluble sulfate, and a soluble borate; S3: injection molding a resin onto the surface of the resulting aluminum alloy substrate in step S2 in a mold to obtain the aluminum alloy-resin composite.

Nanoporous composite separators are disclosed for use in batteries and capacitors comprising a nanoporous inorganic material and an organic polymer material. The inorganic material may comprise Al.sub.2O.sub.3, AlO(OH) or boehmite, AlN, BN, SiN, ZnO, ZrO.sub.2, SiO.sub.2, or combinations thereof. The nanoporous composite separator may have a porosity of between 35-50%. The average pore size of the nanoporous composite separator may be between 10-90 nm. The separator may be formed by coating a substrate with a dispersion including the inorganic material, organic material, and a solvent. Once dried, the coating may be removed from the substrate, thus forming the nanoporous composite separator. A nanoporous composite separator may provide increased thermal conductivity and dimensional stability at temperatures above 200° C. compared to polyolefin separators.

A method for manufacturing an integrated hull by using 3D structure type fiber clothes and 3D vacuum infusion process includes: sequentially stacking at least one first fiber cloth, at least one core material and at least one second fiber cloth on a mold; deploying structural materials on the second fiber cloth; stacking the third fiber clothes to cover the structure materials and a part of the second fiber cloth, whereby the first fiber cloth, the core material, the second fiber cloth and the third fiber clothes are formed to a lamination; determining a pipe arrangement of vacuum pipes and first and second resin pipes; deploying a vacuum bag on the lamination and covering the first and second resin pipes and the vacuum pipe; executing the 3D vacuum infusion process; curing the resin; and executing a mold release process to complete an integrated hull.

The invention describes an extrudable coating composition including a coating thermoplastic polymer and particles, wherein the particles are made from a particle material that has a modulus of compression from 0.1 to 100 MPa. The invention further describes a coating on at least a part of the surface of an article, the coating including a coating thermoplastic polymer and particles, wherein the particles are made from a particle material that has a modulus of compression from 0.1 to 100 MPa and that at least a part of the particles protrude from the surface of the coating. The invention also describes a coated article, in particular an imitation branch, a method of coating an article, and the use of particles made from a particle material with a compression modulus of 0.1 to 100 MPa in a coating composition for the coating of articles.

Disclosed herein is a truck, a deck gate for truck, and a method for manufacturing thereof. According to the present invention, the deck gate for truck has excellent impact strength, low plastic deformation rate, excellent molding property and thermal resistance, and reduces weight. Also, the deck gate for truck according to the present invention reduces weight of about 23% in comparison with a conventional steel and wood type deck gate for truck.

A composite structure (10) including a fiber injection molded portion (14); an insert material (16); and an optional outer layer (12), where the fiber injection molded portion (14) at least partially surrounds the insert material (16). The present teachings also contemplate a method of forming the composite structure (10), including positioning the insert material (16) into a mold and injecting fibers into the mold by a fiber injection molding process or blow molding process.