Three dimensional printed fibrous interlocking interlayers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10940648-B2
Application number	US-201916364606-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2019
Priority date	Apr 19, 2018
Publication date	Mar 9, 2021
Grant date	Mar 9, 2021

Abstract

A three dimensional permeable thermoplastic tape useful for joining of layers of fiber tows (plies) together so as to form highly toughened resin infused structures. In one or more embodiments, the tape is manufactured using three dimensional printing and is applied between layers of fiber tows so as to tack the layers of fiber tows in place and prevent movement of the layers of fiber tows.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tape, comprising:
a two dimensional grid including a first set of first filaments and a second set of second filaments, wherein the first set of the first filaments are aligned in a first direction and the second set of the second filaments are aligned in a second direction so as to intersect with the first set of the first filaments; and
a plurality of pillars extending from the two dimensional grid so that the first set of the first filaments, the second set of the second filaments, and the plurality of the pillars form a three dimensional network, wherein each of the pillars are attached at one end to a base and the base is wider than the each of the pillars.

2. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the three dimensional network comprises a veil interlayer, the pillars are configured to pass into spaces between a plurality of fiber tows and hook onto pillars extending from a second two dimensional grid in a second tape, so as to join the tape to the second tape and reinforce the fiber tows while reducing or preventing damage to the fiber tows.

3. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the three dimensional network is a three dimensional interlayer between layers of a laminate, the pillars are configured to pass into spaces in the laminate and hook onto second pillars extending from a second two dimensional grid in a second tape, so as to join the tape to the second tape and reinforce the laminate while reducing or preventing damage to the laminate.

4. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the pillars have a height H in a range of 0.3 mm≤H≤5 mm.

5. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the pillars extending from the two dimensional grid have a spacing S E between adjacent pillars in a range of 0.8 mm≤S E ≤5 mm.

6. The tape of claim 1 , wherein:
a spacing S h between adjacent first filaments in the first set of the first filaments is 0.8 mm≤S h ≤5 mm, and
a spacing S v between adjacent second filaments in the second set of the second filaments is 0.8 mm≤S v ≤5 mm.

7. The tape of claim 1 , wherein:
the pillars have an average diameter E d in a range 0.02 mm≤E d ≤1.0 mm.

8. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the first filaments and the second filaments each independently have a diameter d in a range 0.04 mm≤d≤2 mm.

9. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the two dimensional grid comprises a mesh including pores bounded by the first filaments and the second filaments, wherein the pores comprise between 40-80% of a surface area of the mesh so as to facilitate resin infusion into the tape.

10. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the pillars are inclined at an angle in a range from zero to five degrees, wherein the angle is between a line, passing through a base of one of the pillars and a tip of the one of the pillars, and a direction perpendicular to the two dimensional grid.

11. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the pillars extend from intersections between the first filaments and the second filaments.

12. The tape of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of intersections between the first filaments and the second filaments, wherein the pillars extend from the first filaments or the second filaments at a plurality of locations and each of the locations are between the intersections.

13. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the pillars are configured to hook onto the pillars extending from a second two dimensional grid in a second tape, so as to join the tape to the second tape.

14. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the pillars extend from a first side of the tape and a second side of the tape.

15. The tape of claim 1 , wherein each of the pillars comprise drawn material.

16. The tape of claim 1 , wherein the first filaments, the second filaments, and/or the pillars comprise a thermoplastic or a hybrid of the thermoplastic.

17. A composite article including the tape of claim 13 , further comprising:
the tape comprising a first tape including:
a first two dimensional grid including a first set of filaments and a second set of filaments, wherein the first set of filaments are aligned in a first direction and the second set of filaments are aligned in a second direction so as to intersect with the first set of filaments; and
a first plurality of pillars extending from the first two dimensional grid; and

the second tape including:
the second two dimensional grid including a third set of filaments and a fourth set of filaments, wherein the third set of filaments are aligned in a third direction and the fourth set of filaments are aligned in a fourth direction so as to intersect with the third set of the filaments;
a second plurality of pillars extending from the second two dimensional grid, wherein each of the first plurality of pillars are hooked onto one of the second plurality of pillars.

18. The composite article of claim 17 , further comprising a layer of fiber tows between the first tape and the second tape, wherein:
the first plurality of the pillars extend to a maximum distance from the first two dimensional grid,
the maximum distance is measured in a direction perpendicular to the first two dimensional grid, and
the maximum distance is less than a spacing from the first two dimensional grid to a bottom of the layer of the fiber tows closest to the first two dimensional grid.

19. The composite article of claim 17 , further comprising a layer of fiber tows between the first tape and the second tape, wherein:
the first plurality of pillars extend to a maximum distance from the first two dimensional grid,
the maximum distance is measured in a direction perpendicular to the first two dimensional grid, and
the maximum distance is equal to a spacing from the first two dimensional grid to a top of the layer furthest from the first two dimensional grid, so that tips of the first plurality of the pillars are even with the top of the layer.

20. The composite article of claim 17 , further comprising a layer of fiber tows between the first tape and the second tape, wherein:
the first plurality of the pillars extend to a maximum distance from the first two dimensional grid,
the maximum distance is measured in a direction perpendicular to the first two dimensional grid, and
the maximum distance is greater than a spacing from the first two dimensional grid to a top of the layer furthest from the first two dimensional grid, so that the first plurality of the pillars extend through and above the layer.

21. An integrated aircraft structure comprising the composite article of claim 20 , further comprising:
a skin attached to the first tape;
a stiffener attached to the second tape; and
resin filling pores in the first two dimensional grid and the second two dimensional grid.

22. A method of making a
composite article, comprising:
positioning one or more layers, each of the layers comprising fiber tows, between a plurality of tapes including a first tape and a second tape, wherein:
each tape includes:
a two dimensional grid including a first set of first filaments and a second set of second filaments, wherein the first set of the first filaments are aligned in a first direction and the second set of the second filaments are aligned in a second direction so as to intersect with the first set of the first filaments;
a plurality of pillars extending from the two dimensional grid so that the first set of the first filaments, the second set of the second filaments, and the plurality of pillars form a three dimensional network; and wherein:
the pillars of the first tape:
pass into spaces betwee

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Evans Paul
• Howe Christopher A
• Martin Kariza
• Wilson Thomas

Classifications

• B29C70/026

  and with one or more layers of pure plastics material, e.g. foam layers (applying a non-preformed coating, e.g. a gel-coat B29C37/0025; with foam blocks B29C70/86) · CPC title

• B29C70/24 Primary

  oriented in at least three directions forming a three-dimensional [3D] structure · CPC title

• B29L2031/3076

  Aircrafts (blades, propellers B29L2031/08) · CPC title

• B29C70/021

  Combinations of fibrous reinforcement and non-fibrous material · CPC title

• B32B5/26

  another layer {next to it} also being fibrous or filamentary {(relative arrangement of fibres or filaments of different layers B32B5/12)} · CPC title