Hexcel Corporation

Andreas G Hegedus

Milton F Custer

Kenneth S Baron

Jong H Han

A glass matrix/ceramic fiber reinforcement composite is prepared from a yarn formed by spinning glass fiber and ceramic fibers lengths together, to form a bicomponent yarn. The yarn is weavable and spinnable, and accordingly may be prepared in fabric forms, or in windings, of predetermined shape. The precursor is melted by heating to the temperature of the melting point of glass, which fused the glass into a continuous matrix, surrounding the ceramic reinforcement.

Ceramic reinforced glass matrix

A woven core structure (2) includes a first and second face sheets (4, 6) with inner surfaces (16, 18) facing one another. First and second sets of corrugated ribbons (8, 10) are positioned between the face sheets. The ribbons have nodes (12, 14) which are secured to the inner surfaces of the face sheets. The first set of ribbons extend transversely to, and preferably perpendicular to the second set of ribbons. The first and second sets of ribbons are woven such that the nodes of the first set of ribbons are spaced apart from and generally opposite the nodes of the second set of ribbons. This arrangement permits an increase in the node contact area (26) between the nodes and the face sheets to enhance the bond strength between the ribbons and the face sheets and to increase the skin deformation strength of the structure. The angle between the ribbons and the face sheets can be adjusted to optimize shear strength versus tension/compression strength.

Woven core structure

Fiber-reinforced ceramic honeycomb is prepared by impregnating a high-temperature fiber, notably fibers of ceramic materials such as silicates, aluminosilicates, aluminates and silicon carbides, with a liquid solution or suspension of a ceramic precursor material, followed by forming the impreganted fiber into corrugated strips, assembling the strips into the honeycomb structure, then heating the strips to form the ceramic. Multiple impregnations with intervening heating are useful in controlling the density and quality of the product.

Method for producing a fiber-reinforced ceramic honeycomb panel

A ceramic body of controlled porosity is formed by coating unidirectional fiber carriers with a hardenable liquid resin bearing powdered ceramic material, which resin is subsequently cured, hardened, or cooled to provide a green body which may be assembled with similar layers, in a desired shape, and subsequently sintered, to form a ceramic body having continuous pores corresponding to the position of the fibers.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Andreas G Hegedus