Non-woven flexible multiply towpreg fabric
First Claim
1. A non-woven towpreg fabric comprising a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, comprising towpreg plies, said towpregs comprising reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material, said reinforcing filaments being substantially wet-out by said matrix forming material while said towpregs remain substantially unconsolidated, wherein said towpregs are arranged in overlapping layers comprising at least one towpreg and are bonded together resulting in said non-woven towpreg fabric.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A non-woven towpreg fabric and a method of production therefor. The non-woven towpreg fabric is fabricated from a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, comprising towpreg plies which comprise reinforcing filaments substantially wetout by a matrix forming material, which then are bonded together to form the fabric. The method of production for the non-woven towpreg fabric involves spreading the reinforcing filaments, coating the reinforcing filaments with the matrix forming material in a manner causing interfacial adhesion, forming the towpreg plies by heating the matrix forming material until the matrix forming material liquefies and coats the reinforcing filaments, cooling the towpreg plies in a manner while said towpregs remain substantially unconsolidated until the matrix forming material solidifies, overlapping a plurality of the towpreg plies, and bonding the towpreg plies together. Multidimensional fabrics, preforms and composite articles also can be formed by this invention.
80 Citations
31 Claims
- 1. A non-woven towpreg fabric comprising a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, comprising towpreg plies, said towpregs comprising reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material, said reinforcing filaments being substantially wet-out by said matrix forming material while said towpregs remain substantially unconsolidated, wherein said towpregs are arranged in overlapping layers comprising at least one towpreg and are bonded together resulting in said non-woven towpreg fabric.
- 11. A multidimensional preform fabricated from a non-woven towpreg fabric comprising a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, said towpregs comprising reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material, said reinforcing filaments being substantially wetout by said matrix forming material while said towpregs remain substantially unconsolidated, wherein said towpregs are arranged in overlapping layers comprising at least one towpreg and are bonded together in a desired configuration to form said preform.
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15. A composite article fabricated from a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, comprising towpreg plies, said towpreg plies comprising reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material, said reinforcing filaments being substantially wetout by said matrix forming material while said towpregs remain substantially unconsolidated, wherein said plurality of towpregs are arranged in a desired configuration and bonded together resulting in a contoured preform having the general configuration of said composite article, and said preform is further acted upon to form said composite article.
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16. A method for the production of a non-woven towpreg fabric comprising a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, comprising towpreg plies, said towpreg plies comprising reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material, comprising the steps of:
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(a) spreading said reinforcing filaments to expose individually substantially all of said reinforcing filaments; (b) coating said reinforcing filaments with said matrix forming material in a manner causing interfacial adhesion of said matrix forming material to said reinforcing filaments; (c) forming said towpreg plies by heating said matrix forming material contacting said reinforcing filaments until said matrix forming material liquefies and coats said reinforcing filaments; (d) cooling said towpreg plies in a manner such that substantial cohesion between neighboring towpreg plies is prevented until said matrix forming material solidifies so as to form said flexible, multiply towpregs; (e) overlapping layers comprising at least one of said towpregs in a manner such that a multilayer configuration of towpregs is formed; and (f) bonding said overlapped towpregs together to form said non-woven towpreg fabric. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30)
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27. A method for the production of a multidimensional preform comprising a plurality of flexible, multiply towpregs, comprising towpreg plies, said towpreg plies comprising reinforcing filaments and matrix forming material comprising the steps of:
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(a) spreading said reinforcing filaments to expose individually substantially all of said reinforcing filaments; (b) coating said reinforcing filaments with said matrix forming material in a manner causing interfacial adhesion of said matrix forming material to said reinforcing filaments; (c) forming said towpreg plies by heating said matrix forming material contacting said reinforcing filaments until said matrix forming material liquefies and coats said reinforcing filaments; (d) cooling said towpreg plies in a manner such that substantial cohesion between neighboring towpreg plies is prevented until said matrix forming material solidifies so as to form said flexible, multiply towpregs; (e) overlapping layers comprising at least one of said towpregs in a manner such that a multilayer configuration of towpregs is formed; (f) arranging said towpregs into a desired preform configuration; and (g) bonding said towpregs together so as to form said preform. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 31)
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Specification