Reinforced structural assembly

A stiffener for reinforcing a hollow structure, in combination with the hollow structure, said hollow structure having spaced walls, a pin spanning said spaced walls, said stiffener comprising a laminate including a carrier member, a layer of expandable polymer on said carrier member, said laminate being of horseshoe shape with side walls connected to each other by a central arcuate connecting portion, said laminate including a cover member on said layer of expandable polymer to form a trilaminate, said connecting portion being disposed over said pin, and said polymer being expanded into intimate contact with said spaced walls.

A stiffener for reinforcing a hollow structure having a pair of spaced walls, said stiffener comprising a laminate including a carrier member, a layer of expandable polymer on said carrier member, a cover member on said layer of expandable polymer to form a trilaminate, said trilaminate being of convoluted form having a length of adjacent integrally connected bent sections, and some sets of adjacent bent sections being closer together than other sets of other bent sections.

A method of making a stiffener for reinforcing a hollow structure comprising the steps of disposing a layer of expandable polymer on a carrier member to create a laminate in flat form, disposing a top member on the polymer remote from the carrier member to create a trilaminate, cutting the trilaminate while in flat form to a predetermined length, and bending the cut trilaminate into diverging shape having side walls connected to each other by and diverging away from a central connecting section.