Resin composition, a fiber reinforced material having a partially impregnated resin and composites made therefrom

Abstract

A partially impregnated preform employs a fiber layer partially impregnated with a resin to form a fiber reinforced resin composite. The fiber layer of the partially impregnated preform is formed of a plurality of parallel oriented tows, each tow formed of a plurality of unidirectional reinforcement fibers. The resin is partially impregnated on one or both faces of the fiber layer. A resin composition for partially impregnating a fiber layer of a preform is also provided. A stack of partially impregnated preforms utilizes a plurality of partially impregnated preforms. The stack of partially impregnated preforms may be cross-ply reinforced by cross-ply stitching the stack of partially impregnated preforms together prior to curing to form a fiber reinforced resin composite upon curing. A method of forming a fiber reinforced resin composite including the steps of: enclosing a partially impregnated preform in a resin content control envelope; enclosing the resin content control envelope in a vacuum envelope; evacuating said vacuum envelope and said resin content control envelope; and heating while simultaneously evacuating the vacuum envelope and the resin content control envelope to melt and fully infuse the resin into said fiber layer and, then, to cure therein.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.