Fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles and process for the preparation thereof
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorJames E. O'Connor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Processes for preparing fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles are provided, for example, thermoplastic fibers and reinforcement fibers can be intermingled to produce a composite yarn, which is used to weave a fabric, then the fabric heated to produce a reinforced article. As another example, thermoplastic yarn and reinforcement yarn can be woven together to produce a composite fabric, which, upon heating, produces a reinforced article.
Claims25
A process for the preparation of a batt of composite staple, said process comprising:
- (a) intermingling individual filaments of at least one fibrous poly(arylene sulfide) material and individual filaments of at least one fibrous reinforcement material to produce a composite yarn;
- (b) passing said composite yarn to a staple cutter to produce a composite staple;
- and
- (c) laying up said composite staple to produce a batt of said composite staple.
A process for the preparation of a fiber reinforced poly(arylene sulfide) composite article, said process comprising
- (a) heating a batt formed from cut composite staple of a hybrid yarn containing individual fibers of poly(arylene sulfide) and individual fibers of a fibrous reinforcing material to a temperature at least as high as the melting point of the poly(arylene sulfide) fibers;
- and
- (b) pressing the thus heated batt under a pressure sufficient to form the composite article.
A process for the preparation of a fiber reinforced thermoplastic article, said process comprising:
- (a) intermingling at least one fibrous poly(arylene sulfide) material and at least one fibrous reinforcement material to produce a composite yarn;
- (b) passing said composite yarn to a staple cutter to produce a composite staple;
- (c) laying up said composite staple to produce a batt of said composite staple;
- and
- (d) heating said batt to a temperature at least as high as the melting point of said poly(arylene sulfide) for a time sufficient to allow intimate contact between said poly(arylene sulfide) and said fibrous reinforcement material.
A process for the preparation of a composite batt useful for the production of fiber reinforced thermoplastic articles, said composite batt comprising poly(arylene sulfide) staple fibers and reinforcement staple fibers, said process comprising:
- (a) intermingling at least one fibrous poly(arylene sulfide) material and at least one fibrous reinforcement material to produce a composite yarn;
- (b) passing said composite yarn to a staple cutter to produce a composite staple;
- and
- (c) laying up said composite staple to produce a batt of said composite staple.
A fabric comprising a plurality of thermoplastic yarns and a plurality of reinforcing yarns,
- wherein the thermoplastic yarns are formed from individual filaments of poly(arylene sulfide) polymer, and
- wherein the reinforcing yarns are formed from individual filaments selected from the group consisting of carbon fibers, glass fibers, and aramid fibers.
A fiber reinforced thermoplastic article comprising a composite fabric prepared by weaving at least one poly(arylene sulfide) yarn with at least one reinforcement yarn, wherein said composite fabric is heated to a temperature at least as high as the melting point of said poly(arylene sulfide) yarn for a time sufficient to allow intimate contact between said poly(arylene sulfide) yarn and said reinforcement yarn.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.