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US 10,096,396 B2Granted
Composite materials with improved electrical conductivity and methods of manufacture thereof
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorKeith Daniel Humfeld
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of manufacturing a composite material may include providing one or more layers of reinforcement material penetrated with viscous matrix material that is doped with electrically conductive particles. The method may further include applying a magnetic field to arrange the particles into one or more electrically conductive pathways, and curing the matrix material to secure the pathways in position relative to the reinforcement material.
Claims20
A method of manufacturing a composite material, the method comprising:
- providing a configuration including a plurality of separate distinguishable layers of reinforcement material, each layer comprising a plurality of elongate fibers oriented in parallel, and viscous matrix material penetrating the plurality of layers of reinforcement material, the matrix material being doped with electrically conductive particles, the plurality of layers of reinforcement material being stacked on top of one another in a z-direction;
- applying a magnetic field to the configuration to arrange the particles with respect to the z-direction to form one or more electrically conductive pathways extending generally in the z-direction through the plurality of separate distinguishable layers of reinforcement material;
- and
- curing the matrix material to secure the one or more electrically conductive pathways in position relative to the matrix material and the plurality of layers of reinforcement material.
1 more element
A method of manufacturing a composite material, the method comprising:
- providing one or more layers of reinforcement material penetrated with viscous matrix material that is doped with electrically conductive particles, with each of the one or more layers of reinforcement material including a majority of fibers oriented parallel to one another;
- applying a magnetic field to arrange the particles into one or more electrically conductive pathways;
- and
- curing the matrix material to a cured state to secure the one or more electrically conductive pathways in position relative to the one or more layers of reinforcement material.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.