Method of making a laminate, an energy absorbing device, an energy absorbing device composition, and a forming tool
AssigneeSabic Global Technologies B.V.
InventorsCraig Lawrence Milne, Gregory E. Tremblay, Dhanendra Kumar Nagwanshi, Somasekhar Bobba Venkat, Arunachala Parameshwara, Matthew D. Marks
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an embodiment, an energy-absorbing device can comprise: a polymer reinforcement structure, wherein the polymer reinforcement structure comprises a polymer matrix and chopped fibers; and a shell comprising 2 walls extending from a back and forming a shell channel, wherein the shell comprises continuous fibers and a resin matrix; wherein the polymer reinforcement structure is located in the shell channel.
Claims23
A method of forming a shell of a crush countermeasure for a body-in-white (BIW) structural vehicle component, comprising:
- forming a laminate by:
- feeding a fiber structure and a resin to a heated belt laminator to form a layup, wherein the layup comprises alternating layers of the fiber structure and the resin, wherein fiber structure, for each one of the layers, is a unidirectional fibrous tape;
- laying up the fiber structure such that, within the layup, fibers of the fiber structure within each one of the layers are oriented at a different angle than the fibers within at least an adjacent one of the layers;
- increasing a temperature and a pressure to flow the resin into the fiber structure to form the laminate;
- and
- cooling the laminate to solidify the laminate;
- and
- forming the laminate into a U-shape of the shell of the crush countermeasure such that the shell comprises two walls extending parallel to each other from a back and forming a shell channel, having a major axis extending between open ends of the shell channel, wherein the two walls extend continuously along the major axis, between the open ends of the shell channel;
- and
- forming a ribbed or honeycomb shaped reinforcement along the shell channel with a chopped fiber reinforced polymer.
A method of configuring a crush countermeasure in a body-in-white (BIW) structural vehicle component, comprising:
- obtaining the BIW structural vehicle component defining a first hollow metal structural section;
- forming a shell of the crush countermeasure by:
- forming a laminate by:
- feeding a fiber structure and a resin to a heated belt laminator to form a layup, wherein the layup comprises alternating layers of the fiber structure and the resin, wherein fiber structure, for each one of the layers, is a unidirectional fibrous tape;
- laying up the fiber structure such that, within the layup, fibers of the fiber structure within h one of the layers are oriented a La different angle than the fibers within at least an adjacent one of the lavers;
- increasing a temperature and a pressure to flow the resin into the fiber structure to form the laminate;
- and
- cooling the laminate to solidify the laminate;
- and
- forming the laminate into a U-shape of the shell of the crash countermeasure such the shell comprises two walls extending parallel to each other from a back and forming a shell channel, having a major axis extending between open ends of the shell channel, wherein the two walls extend continuously along the major axis, between the open ends of the shell channel;
- and
- installing the shell at the hollow metal structural section of the BIW structural vehicle component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.