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AssigneeGalactic S.A.
InventorsRob Sjostedt, Jeremiah Schwartz
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Control and stabilizing cables and tendons for high altitude aircraft and airships having lightweight, high strength and low CTE are disclosed, along with a method and machine for fabrication of same. The cable is comprised of a fiber prepreg tow encased in a polymer sleeve with one bobbin at each end to facilitate connections. Consolidating the fiber prepreg tow along the length of the cable using high temperature shrink tubing, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), allows for eliminating the twisting of the fiber prepreg tow, thus reducing the number of wraps around the bobbins. Eliminating the twists in the fiber prepreg tow also reduces the length of fiber needed, and therefore the overall change in length of the control cable with temperature variations is reduced. Additional cable strength can be achieved by adding and holding significant tension on the fiber prepreg tow by applying weight during the curing process.
1- A method for fabrication of a fiber cable comprising:
2- The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of carbon fiber filaments.
3- The method of claim 2 wherein the shrink tube comprises a PDVF shrink tube.
4- The method of claim 1 wherein tensioning the fiber prepreg tow comprises using a weight.
5- The method of claim 4 further comprising sliding the second tooling pin while tensioning the fiber prepreg tow using the weight.
6- The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of aramid fiber filaments.
7- The method of claim 6 wherein the shrink tube comprises an ultraviolet light blocking PDVF shrink tube.
8- A fiber cable manufactured by a process comprising the steps of:
9- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 8 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of carbon fiber filaments.
10- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 9 wherein the shrink tube comprises a PDVF shrink tube.
11- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 8 wherein tensioning the fiber prepreg tow comprises using a weight.
12- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 11 further comprising sliding the second tooling pin while tensioning the fiber prepreg tow using the weight.
13- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of 8 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of aramid fiber filaments.
14- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 13 wherein the shrink tube comprises an ultraviolet light blocking PDVF shrink tube.
15- A method for fabrication of a fiber cable comprising:
16- The method of claim 15 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of carbon fiber filaments.
17- The method of claim 16 wherein the shrink tube comprises a PDVF shrink tube.
18- The method of claim 15 wherein tensioning the fiber prepreg tow comprises using a weight.
19- The method of claim 18 further comprising sliding the second tooling pin while tensioning the fiber prepreg using the weight.
20- The method of claim 15 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of aramid fiber filaments.
21- The method of claim 20 wherein the shrink tube comprises an ultraviolet light blocking PDVF shrink tube.
22- A fiber cable manufactured by a process comprising the steps of:
23- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 22 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of carbon fiber filaments.
24- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 23 wherein the shrink tube comprises a PDVF shrink tube.
25- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 22 wherein tensioning the fiber prepreg tow comprises using a weight.
26- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 25 further comprising sliding the second tooling pin while tensioning the fiber prepreg tow using the weight.
27- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 22 wherein the plurality of fiber filaments comprises a plurality of aramid fiber filaments.
28- The fiber cable manufactured by the process of claim 27 wherein the shrink tube comprises an ultraviolet light blocking PDVF shrink tube.