Carbon Fiber Reinforcements for Sheet Molding Composites
AssigneeUT-Battelle, LLC
InventorsSoydan Ozcan, Felix L. Paulauskas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of processing a carbon fiber tow includes the steps of providing a carbon fiber tow made of a plurality of carbon filaments, depositing a sizing composition at spaced-apart sizing sites along a length of the tow, leaving unsized interstitial regions of the tow, and cross-cutting the tow into a plurality of segments. Each segment includes at least a portion of one of the sizing sites and at least a portion of at least one of the unsized regions of the tow, the unsized region including and end portion of the segment.
Claims8
A method of processing a carbon fiber tow comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a carbon fiber tow comprising a plurality of carbon filaments;
- b. depositing a sizing composition at spaced-apart sizing sites along a length of said tow, leaving unsized interstitial regions of said tow;
- and
- c. cross-cutting said tow into a plurality of segments, each of said segments defining an end portion, each of said segments comprising at least a portion of one of said sizing sites and at least a portion of at least one of said unsized regions of said tow, said unsized region including said end portion.
A reinforcement component comprising a bundle of carbon filaments, said bundle defining at least one unsized end region wherein said filaments can repel each other and separate, said bundle further defining a sized region wherein said filaments are bound together by a sizing composition.
A composite comprising a resin matrix and a reinforcement component dispersed therein, said reinforcement component comprising a plurality of bundles of carbon filaments, each of said bundles defining at least one unsized end region wherein said filaments can repel each other and separate, said bundle further defining a sized region wherein said filaments are bound together by a sizing composition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.