Textile product and a method of manufacturing a composite object therefrom

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11248337-B2
Application number	US-201715443795-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 27, 2017
Priority date	Feb 27, 2017
Publication date	Feb 15, 2022
Grant date	Feb 15, 2022

Abstract

A textile product and a method of manufacturing a composite object therefrom includes interacting a granular material with a textile material, with the textile material impregnated with the elements of the granular material forming a textile product, and introducing the textile product into a molding process so as to form the composite object therefrom. The granular material includes elements including a matrix material having a plurality of reinforcing fibers received therein, the elements of the granular material having a melt viscosity of between about 5 and about 15 grams per 10 minutes and a particle size distribution with a range in particle size of between about 50 and about 595 micrometers.

First claim

That which is claimed:

1. A method of manufacturing a composite object, the method comprising:
aging a virgin granular material by subjecting the virgin granular material at least to heat in a first manufacturing process to form an aged granular material, the aged granular material including elements comprising a matrix material having a plurality of reinforcing fibers received therein, the elements of the aged granular material having, as a result of the first manufacturing process: a melt viscosity of between about 5 and about 15 grams per 10 minutes, the melt viscosity being decreased relative to the virgin granular material not subjected to the first manufacturing process, and a particle size distribution with a range in particle size of between about 50 and about 595 micrometers, with the particle size distribution spanning at least 300 micrometers, the particle size distribution of the elements of the aged granular material being increased in response to the heat applied thereto in the first manufacturing process;
interacting the aged granular material with a textile material having a woven composition in a second manufacturing process so that the aged granular material is received by and impregnates the textile material to form a textile product; and
introducing the textile product into a molding process so as to form the composite object therefrom.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elements of the aged granular material have a specific enthalpy of first melt of between about 40 and about 50 Joules per gram and a heat of crystallization greater than about 40 Joules per gram.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein interacting the aged granular material with the textile material comprises interacting the aged granular material with the textile material, the plurality of reinforcing fibers received in the matrix material having an average fiber length of between about 100 micrometers and about 500 micrometers and an average fiber diameter of between about 4 micrometers and about 8 micrometers, and wherein a fiber content of the plurality of reinforcing fibers in the aged granular material is between about 20 and about 50 percent by weight.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein aging the virgin granular material comprises heating the virgin granular material in the first manufacturing process to affect the increase in the particle size distribution of the elements of the aged granular material such that the increased particle size distribution comprises an average particle size of between about 80 and about 200 micrometers.

5. The method according to claim 1 , comprising isolating greater particle size elements of the aged granular material within the increased particle size distribution and associated with the melt viscosity of between about 5 and about 15 grams per 10 minutes from lesser particle size elements of the aged granular material within the increased particle size distribution.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein isolating the greater particle size elements of the aged granular material comprises sifting the elements of the aged granular material to separate the lesser particle size elements for reusing in the additive manufacturing process from the greater particle size elements, for interacting with the textile material.

7. The method according to claim 6 , comprising resizing the greater particle size elements to a substantially uniform average particle size.

8. The method according to claim 5 , wherein interacting the aged granular material with the textile material comprises dispersing the elements of the aged granular material throughout the textile material using one of: applying the aged and isolated granular material to the textile material and curing the textile material having the aged and isolated granular material applied thereon under heat, introducing the aged and isolated granular material into a suspension and heating and spraying the suspension onto the textile material, vaporizing the aged and isolated granular material and allowing the vapor to condense onto the textile material, and pressing the aged and isolated granular material into the textile material with a heated platen to thereby form the textile product.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein interacting the aged granular material with the textile material comprises interacting the aged granular material with a broad goods material.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein introducing the textile product into the molding process comprises introducing the textile product into a laminate molding process or a flake molding process so as to form the composite object therefrom.

11. A textile product comprising:
a textile material having a woven composition; and
an aged granular material received by and impregnating the textile material, the aged granular material being formed from a virgin granular material subjected at least to heat in a first manufacturing process, and including elements comprising a matrix material having a plurality of reinforcing fibers received therein, the elements of the aged granular material having, as a result of the first manufacturing process;
a melt viscosity of between about 5 and about 15 grams per 10 minutes, the melt viscosity being decreased relative to the virgin granular material not subjected to the first manufacturing process, and
a particle size distribution with a range in particle size of between about 50 and about 595 micrometers, with the particle size distribution spanning at least 300 micrometers, the particle size distribution of the elements of the aged granular material being increased in response to the heat applied thereto in the first manufacturing process,

wherein the aged granular material is subjected to a second manufacturing process so as to impregnate the textile material and form the textile product.

12. The textile product according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of reinforcing fibers received in the matrix material have an average fiber length of between about 100 micrometers and about 500 micrometers and an average fiber diameter of between about 4 micrometers and about 8 micrometers, and wherein a fiber content of the plurality of reinforcing fibers in the aged granular material is between about 20 and about 50 percent by weight.

13. The textile product according to claim 11 , wherein the increased particle size distribution comprises an average particle size of between about 80 and about 200 micrometers.

14. The textile product according to claim 11 , wherein the elements of the aged granular material received by and impregnating the textile material comprise greater particle size elements relative to lesser particle size elements within the increased particle size distribution, the greater particle size elements of the aged granular material being associated with the melt viscosity of between about 5 and about 15 grams per 10 minutes being isolated from the lesser particle size elements of the aged granular material, for impregnating the textile material.

15. The textile product according to claim 11 , wherein the aged granular material is received by and impregnates the textile material in response to using one of:
applying the aged and isolated granular material to the textile material and curing the textile material having the aged and isolated granular material applied thereon under heat, introducing the aged and isolated granular material into a suspension and heating and spraying the suspension onto the textile material,
vaporizing the aged and isolated granular material and allowing the vapor to condense onto the

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Lyons Brett I
• Sanchez Sergio H

Classifications

• C08J2379/02

  Polyamines · CPC title

• C08J2300/22

  Thermoplastic resins · CPC title

• C08J2381/04

  Polysulfides · CPC title

• B29C70/12

  using fibres of short length, e.g. in the form of a mat {(non-woven fabrics per se D04H1/00)} · CPC title

• C08J2371/10

  from phenols · CPC title