Bonding of composite materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017190165-A1
Application number	US-201715462817-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 18, 2017
Priority date	Aug 22, 2013
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Peel ply for surface preparation and a method of surface preparation prior to adhesive bonding. A resin-rich peel ply is applied onto a curable, resin-based composite substrate, followed by co-curing. After co-curing, the composite substrate is fully cured but the matrix resin in the peel ply remains partially cured. When the peel ply is removed, a roughened, bondable surface with chemically-active functional groups is revealed. The composite substrate with the chemically-active, bondable surface may be bonded to another composite substrate to form a covalently-bonded structure.

First claim

1 - 15 . (canceled)

16 . A curable composite structure comprising:
a removable, resin-rich peel ply on a surface of a composite substrate, wherein the composite substrate comprises reinforcing fibers impregnated with a curable, first matrix resin and the peel ply comprises a fabric impregnated with a curable, second matrix resin different from the first matrix resin, and wherein the second matrix resin contains an insufficient amount of curing agent for fully curing the second matrix resin under the same curing conditions that would result in fully curing of the first matrix resin.

17 . The curable composite structure of claim 16 , wherein the second matrix resin comprises at least one thermoset resin and at least one curing agent for crosslinking the thermoset resin, and the molar ratio of thermoset resin to curing agent is such that there is a deficiency in the amount of curing agent that is necessary for reacting with 100% of the thermoset resin when both of the first and second matrix resins are subjected to the same curing conditions that would result in fully curing the first matrix resin, and consequently, there is unreacted, non-crosslinked thermoset resin in the peel ply when the first matrix resin is fully cured.

18 . The curable composite structure of claim 17 , wherein the at least one thermoset resin in the second matrix resin is a multifunctional epoxy resin.

Assignees

• Cytec Ind Inc

Inventors

• Macadams Leonard
• Kohli Dalip

Classifications

• B29C65/5057

  positioned between the surfaces to be joined (B29C65/5035 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B29L2031/30

  Vehicles, e.g. ships or aircraft, or body parts thereof {(vanes or blades B29L2031/08, air bags B29L2022/027)} · CPC title

• B29C66/7212

  characterised by the composition of the fibres · CPC title

• B29C66/0224

  with removal of material · CPC title

• B29C66/73751

  the to-be-joined area of at least one of the parts to be joined being uncured, i.e. non cross-linked, non vulcanized · CPC title