Nanotube fiber reinforced composite materials and method of producing fiber reinforced composites
First Claim
1. A method of making a composite material comprising:
- providing a mixture of nanotubes and a matrix material in a fluent state;
extruding said mixture to form a filament wherein said nanotubes are aligned along a filament axis;
aligning a plurality of segments of said filament in a first direction to form a nanotube-matrix filament preform; and
consolidating said preform.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A composite composition and a method of making such a composite that is composed of a matrix material and dispersed reinforcement nanotubes that are substantially aligned along at least one specified direction or axis. Also a method for making a continuous fiber-reinforced composite object by combining a reinforcement fiber tow with a solidifying matrix material to form a pre-impregnated tow or towpreg, providing a dispensing head capable of dispensing the towpreg onto a base member positioned a distance from this head with the head and base member being driven by motion devices electronically connected to a motion controller regulated by a computer, and operating and moving the head relative to the base member to dispense multiple layers of towpreg in accordance with a CAD-generated deposition path along which the dispensing head can be allowed to trace out individual layers by following a selected algorithm so that the number of path interruptions at which the towpreg must be tentatively cut off from the dispensing head is minimized.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method of making a composite material comprising:
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providing a mixture of nanotubes and a matrix material in a fluent state;
extruding said mixture to form a filament wherein said nanotubes are aligned along a filament axis;
aligning a plurality of segments of said filament in a first direction to form a nanotube-matrix filament preform; and
consolidating said preform. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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- 9. A composite material comprising a matrix material and 0.5% to 50% by volume of nanotubes, wherein said nanotubes are aligned substantially parallel to each other along a first specified direction.
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13. A method of forming a composite material comprising:
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providing a mixture of nanotubes and a matrix material in a fluent state;
extruding the mixture through an orifice to form a continuous filament;
segmenting said filament to form filament segments;
aligning a first plurality of the filament segments in a first direction to form a first preform layer;
aligning a second plurality of the filament segments in a second direction generally perpendicular to the first direction to form a second preform layer; and
consolidating the first and second preform layers.
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14. A method for making a continuous fiber-reinforced composite material-based three-dimensional object, comprising:
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combining a reinforcement fiber tow with a solidifying matrix material to form a pre-impregnated tow or towpreg;
providing a dispensing head capable of dispensing said towpreg onto a surface area of a base member positioned a distance from said dispensing head;
said dispensing head and said base member being driven by motion means electronically connected to a motion controller regulated by a computer; and
operating and moving said dispensing head relative to said base member to dispense multiple layers of towpreg;
said steps of operating and moving comprising the following sub-steps;
creating a geometry file of said object on a computer with said geometry comprising a plurality of layers and each said layer being composed of a plurality of thin segments which can be connected to form exterior and interior contours for delineating respectively the exterior and interior boundaries of a cross-sectional shape of said layer;
converting said geometry to form deposition paths along which said dispensing head is driven to trace out individual layers by following a selected algorithm so that the number of path interruptions at which said towpreg must be cut off from said dispensing head is minimized;
converting said deposition paths into programmed signals in a predetermined sequence; and
in response to said programmed signals received from said computer, operating and moving said dispensing head to deposit multiple layers of towpreg, one upon another, in said sequence to form said 3-D object. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification