Thermoplastic composites and methods of making and using same

US9550330B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9550330-B2
Application numberUS-201213413466-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateMar 6, 2012
Priority dateSep 24, 2009
Publication dateJan 24, 2017
Grant dateJan 24, 2017

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  1. Title

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  2. Abstract

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  3. Assignees and inventors

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  4. Key dates

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  5. First independent claim

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  6. CPC / IPC classifications

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  7. Citations and related patents

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Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

A plurality of thermoplastic composite structures are laminated to each other in a lay-up arrangement to form a laminate. Each thermoplastic composite structure is composed of a core composite layer and a surface layer polymer applied to opposing surfaces of the core composite layer. The core composite layer is composed of a fibrous substrate and one or more high performance polymers, which crystallize at a faster rate than the surface layer polymer.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A method for forming a laminate comprising: (a) forming a plurality of thermoplastic tri-layer composite tapes suitable for Automated Tape Laydown (ATL) or Automated Fiber Placement (AFP), each thermoplastic tri-layer composite tape comprising: a surface layer polymer on opposing surfaces of a core composite layer, said core composite layer comprising a fibrous substrate impregnated with one or more high performance polymers, wherein said high performance polymer possesses greater than 20% crystallinity, and said surface layer polymer is selected from a slow crystallizing semi-crystalline polymer with less than 20% crystallinity or a blend of a semi-crystalline polymer and an amorphous polymer; and (b) laying down said thermoplastic tri-layer composite tapes in an ATL or AFP machine in a lay-up arrangement, wherein during the laying down, the high performance polymer crystallizes at a faster rate than the surface layer polymer, whereby the high performance polymer nucleates and accelerates the crystallization rate of the surface layer polymer. 2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the high performance polymer and the surface layer polymer comprise polyaryletherketones (PAEK) or a PAEK polymer blend. 3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the PAEK is selected from a group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetheretherketoneketone (PEEKK), polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), polyetherketone (PEK), and polyetherketoneketoneetherketone (PEKKEK). 4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the surface layer polymer is applied at a thickness of 1 to 20 microns per layer. 5. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the fibrous substrate comprises fibers selected from a group consisting of carbon fibers, glass fibers, aramid fibers, and mixtures thereof. 6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the high performance polymer and the surface layer polymer comprise polyetherketoneketones (PEKK) with different crystallization rates, and the crystallization rates are achieved by adjusting the terephthaloyl (“T”) to isophthaloyl (“I”) ratio.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component · CPC title

  • 1 mil or less · CPC title

  • Use of polyethers {, e.g. PEEK, i.e. polyether-etherketone or PEK, i.e. polyetherketone or derivatives thereof}, as moulding material · CPC title

  • Polymeric fiber · CPC title

  • Thermoplastic polyimides, e.g. polyesterimides, PEI, i.e. polyetherimides, or polyamideimides; Derivatives thereof · CPC title

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What does patent US9550330B2 cover?
A plurality of thermoplastic composite structures are laminated to each other in a lay-up arrangement to form a laminate. Each thermoplastic composite structure is composed of a core composite layer and a surface layer polymer applied to opposing surfaces of the core composite layer. The core composite layer is composed of a fibrous substrate and one or more high performance polymers, which cry…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Pratte James F, Rogers Scott A, Ponsolle Dominique, and 1 more
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification B29C70/086. Mapped technology areas include Operations & Transport.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Jan 24 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).