US 2022/0274369 A1 · PREPREGS AND CURED COMPOSITES HAVING IMPROVED SURFACES AND PROCESSES OF MAKING AND METHODS OF USING SAME

Abstract

The present invention discloses cured composites having improved surfaces and processes of making and methods of using same. Such processes use ultra-short pulse lasers, for example, a femto-second laser to ablate material without the detrimental heat affected zones of other laser processes. Such process can not only increases surface roughness and clean contaminates, but can also selectively remove the matrix material and expose the surface fibers of cured composites. The treated cured composites have improved thermal and electrical pathways that can dissipate unwanted heat and electricity when two or more prepregs and/or cured composites are bonded or cured to form a single article.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A composite structure comprising:

a) a fibrous material said fibrous material comprising fibers selected from the group consisting of carbon fibers, metallic fibers, and mixtures thereof;
and
b) a cured resin system comprising a resin selected from the group consisting of epoxy resin, bismaleimide resin, polyimide resin, cyanate ester resin, and mixtures thereof,
said composite structure comprising at least one ablated surface area having a total surface electrical conductivity of about 1% to about 100% of the neat fibrous material from which it is constructed, and/or said composite structure comprising at least one ablated surface area having a surface consisting of exposed surface fiber area fraction of about 1% to about 100%.

1 more element

A process of making a composite structure having a surface, said process comprising laser ablating at least a portion of said surface of said composite using a laser having a pulse length of from about 1 attosecond to about 100 picoseconds, said composite structure comprising a fibrous material said fibrous material comprising fibers selected consisting of carbon fibers, metallic fibers and mixtures thereof;

and a cured resin system comprising a resin selected consisting of epoxy resin, bismaleimide resin, polyimide resin, cyanate ester resin, and mixtures thereof.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

17/681,949Filed 28 Feb 2022

Priority

1 Mar 2021

Published

1 Sep 2022

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

B29C 70/54
Shaping operations therefor: component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations , e.g. feeding or storage of prepregs or SMC after…
B32B 3/266
Characterised by a particular shape of the outline of the cross-section of a continuous layer; characterised by a layer with cavities or…
B23K 26/0624
By shaping pulses: using ultrashort pulses, i.e. pulses of 1 ns or less
B23K 26/402
Taking account of the properties of the material involved: involving non-metallic material, e.g. isolators

Prepregs and cured composites having improved surfaces and processes of making and methods of using same

Life of this patent

Prepregs and cured composites having improved surfaces and processes of making and methods of using same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21