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US 12,104,034 B2Granted
Expandable media with flexible skin as tooling for composite parts
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsXiaoxi Wang, Gary E. Georgeson, Jonathan A. Santiago
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of curing a composite part, including placing an uncured composite part on a mandrel, placing a plurality of expandable pellets on the uncured composite part, expanding the plurality of expandable pellets, applying a positive pressure to the uncured composite part, and curing the uncured composite part.
Claims20
A method of curing a composite part, comprising:
- placing an uncured composite part on a mandrel;
- placing a plurality of expandable pellets on the uncured composite part;
- expanding the plurality of expandable pellets;
- applying a positive pressure to the uncured composite part;
- and
- curing the uncured composite part,
- wherein each of the plurality of expandable pellets comprises:
- a blowing agent,
- a polymer matrix configured to hold the blowing agent, and
- a flexible skin configured to encapsulate the polymer matrix and the blowing agent,
- wherein the flexible skin is at least partially permeable with respect to the blowing agent or a gas released by the blowing agent, and
- wherein the flexible skin is configured to restrict an escape of the blowing agent or the gas released by the blowing agent to control an expansion of each of the plurality of expandable pellets.
9 more elements
An expandable pellet for use in the curing of composite parts, comprising:
- a blowing agent,
- a polymer matrix configured to hold the blowing agent, and
- a flexible skin configured to encapsulate the polymer matrix and the blowing agent,
- wherein the flexible skin is at least partially permeable with respect to the blowing agent or a gas released by the blowing agent, and
- wherein the flexible skin is configured to control an expansion of the expandable pellet.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.