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US 12,624,175 B2Granted
Reinforcement material for composite laminate
AssigneePRF Composite Holdings Limited
InventorRobert Burnell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A woven fabric prepreg for constructing a composite laminate comprises two sheets of fabric woven from tows of fibres, impregnated with a polymer matrix and adhered together. Each sheet is woven in a satin weave such that the tows create long floats on at least one side of the sheet. The sheets are positioned face-to-face with the long floats parallel, such that the tows pack together and the space between the sheets is minimised.
Claims15
A method of manufacturing a woven multi-layer fabric prepreg for use in constructing a composite laminate, comprising the steps of:
- providing two sheets of woven fabric having tows of fibres in a satin weave, such that said tows create long floats on each side of each sheet, each sheet being elongate and having a longitudinal direction;
- impregnating each sheet of fabric with a polymer matrix, wherein only a face of one of said sheets is impregnated with the polymer matrix and only a back of the other of said sheets is impregnated with the polymer matrix, the face having long floats aligned with the longitudinal direction and the back having long floats aligned in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction;
- placing the sheets together in any one of:
- face-to-face, so that there is only a single layer of polymer matrix between the faces, and
- back-to-back, so that there is only a single layer of polymer matrix between the backs,
- with the long floats parallel, such that the tows pack together and enclosed free space between the sheets is minimised, and so that the longitudinal directions are aligned;
- and
- adhering said sheets together to form the woven multi-layer fabric prepreg.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.