An erosion resistant article such as rotor blades for helicopters and wind turbines having the leading edge surface protected from damage from high speed impingement of rain or sand with a protective coating formed from specific polyurethane or polyurea coating having a defined set of minimum physical properties where the protective coating can be applied as a liquid coating and cured in place or as a preformed complementary shaped covering to protect the leading edge against erosion damage in service.

Unique blends of fibers that incorporate synthetic cellulosic fibers to render fabrics made with such blends more durable than fabrics made with natural cellulosic fibers such as cotton. While more durable than cotton, the synthetic cellulosic fibers used in the blends are still inexpensive and comfortable to the wearer. Thus, the benefits of cotton (affordability and comfort) are still attained while a drawback of cotton—low durability—is avoided. In one embodiment, the fiber blend includes FR modacrylic fibers and synthetic cellulosic fibers, preferably, but not necessarily non-FR lyocell fibers such as TENCEL™ and TENCEL A100™. Other fibers may be added to the blend, including, but not limited to, additional types of inherently FR fibers, anti-static fibers, anti-microbial fibers, stretch fibers, and/or high tenacity fibers. The fiber blends disclosed herein may be used to form various types of FR fabrics. Desired colors may be imparted in a variety of ways and with a variety of dyes to the fabrics disclosed herein. Fabrics having the fibers blends disclosed herein can be used to construct the entirety of, or various portions of, a variety of protective garments for protecting the wearer against electrical arc flash and flames, including, but not limited to, coveralls, jumpsuits, shirts, jackets, vests, and trousers.

A method and system for the production of fibers for use in biocomposites is provided that includes the ability to use both retted and unretted straw, that keeps the molecular structure of the fibers intact by subjecting the fibers to minimal stress, that maximizes the fiber's aspect ratio, that maximizes the strength of the fibers, and that minimizes time and energy inputs, along with maintaining the fibers in good condition for bonding to the polymer(s) used with the fibers to form the biocomposite material. This consequently increases the functionality of the biocomposites produced (i.e. reinforcement, sound absorption, light weight, heat capacity, etc.), increasing their marketability. Additionally, as the disclosed method does not damage the fibers, oilseed flax straw, as well as all types of fibrous materials (i.e. fiber flax, banana, jute, industrial hemp, sisal, coir) etc., can be processed in bio composite materials.

A multi-layer decorating element includes a base and a plurality of plates forming decorative elements. The base has a length between the first and second ends thereof and an increased width from the first end to the second end. The first end of the base is curved. The second end of the base is divided by a gap into two segments. The gap has a closed end and an open end. The open end is disposed at the second end of the base. The closed end has a smaller width than the open end. The plurality of plates includes a side with a hot melt glue layer and is hot pressed on a side of the base. The plurality of plates is disposed within peripheral edges of the base and includes a plurality of overlapped sections. The plurality of plates has different shapes.

Disclosed herein are polyesters and fibers made therefrom. The fiber comprises a polymer, poly(trimethylene furandicarboxylate) (PTF), and PTF based copolymers.

A metal sheet having a low friction coefficient and a low waviness. Multiple round or roughly-round small pits are distributed on the surface of the metal sheet. The diameter of a single pit ranges from 30 μm to 150 μm, and the overlap between adjacent pits is lower than 10%. On the surface of the metal sheet where the pits are located, the proportion of the area of pits per square millimeter of surface area is greater than 30%, and the difference between the quantities of pits in any unit square millimeter is less than 20%. By means of the proper design of surface microstructure, the friction coefficient and the waviness can be effectively reduced, thereby improving the forming and painting performance of the material.

A composite scaffold having a highly porous interior with increased surface area and void volume is surrounded by a flexible support structure that substantially maintains its three-dimensional shape under tension and provides mechanical reinforcement during repair or reconstruction of soft tissue while simultaneously facilitating regeneration of functional tissue.

An image processing system or electronic device may implement processing circuitry. The processing circuitry may receive an image, such as financial document image. The processing circuitry may determine a character count for the financial document image or particular portions of the financial document image without recognizing any particular character in the financial document image. In that regard, the processing circuitry may determine a top left score for pixels in the financial document, the top left score indicating or representing a likelihood that a particular pixel corresponds to a top left corner of a text character. The processing circuitry may also determine top right score for image pixels. Then, the processing circuitry may identify one or more text chunks using the top left and top rights scores for pixels in the financial document image. The processing circuitry may determine a character count for the identified text chunks.

The method grows a mycelial mass over a three-dimensional lattice such that a dense network of oriented hyphae is formed on the lattice. Growth along the lattice results in mycelium composite with highly organized hyphae strands and allows the design and production of composites with greater strength in chosen directions due to the organized nature of the supporting mycelia structure.

The apparel is constructed from various combinations of layers of materials with moisture transfer properties. A first liner of moisture transfer fabrics abuts a second layer of structural material such as open-cell foam. The second layer can abut a breathable membrane and/or an insulating material. Finally, carefully selected outer fabric completes the combination to provide apparel with improved performance characteristics. The outer fabrics are treated in various ways to enhance performance.