METHOD FOR FORMING FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE

Abstract

Fiber reinforced composite products of enhanced interlaminar ply strength and processes of producing same. In forming the products, layers of fibrous reinforcing material and resinous matrix material are established. The matrix material contains unset resin and short fibers of an average particle length of 0.2-0.6 mm in a weight ratio of short fibers to resin in the range of 0.4-1. The reinforcing material comprises fibers of a length substantially greater than the length of the short fibers in the matrix material. The fiber and matrix layers are integrated in order to cause the resin and short fibers which comprise the strengthened matrix material to enter into the interstitial spaces of the longer fiber reinforcing material. Thereafter, the matrix resin is solidified in order to arrive at the fiber reinforced composite product. Alternate fiber and matrix layers may be built up on a surface while a pressure gradient is established from the outside of the built up layers to the surface in order to cause the resin to flow across the interfacial boundaries of the resin and fiber layers. The flow across the resin fiber interfaces promotes orientation of the short fibers in a direction across the interfaces so that the short fibers enter into the interstitial spaces between the reinforcing fibers.

Source: Google Patents

35 USC §181 Secrecy Order

Inventor

• 1ALVIN E. HOHMAN