Weyerhaeuser Company Limited

Beall, Frank C.

Frank C Beall

Dwayne M Shearer

Richard C Beetham

Johan D Koppernaes

John M Rodgers

Robert S Parker

A composition, apparatus and method for making resin bonded composite pultruded products using a thermosetting resin is disclosed. The resin includes a condensation resin which has a high solids content. A pultrusion system includes reinforcing material supply, a pultrusion die adapted to be heated, injection device for injecting resin into the die, and pulling device for drawing product through the die. The method includes supplying strands of the reinforcing material to the die and grasping the strands with the pulling device, injecting a condensation-type monomer resin into the die to impregnate the reinforcing material within the die, and pulling the resin-impregnated strands through the die at a rate that permits the resin to condense to an essentially cured state by the time the composite product is withdrawn from the die. The die is a modular die such that various sections of the die may be selected as desired to change process parameters. The die is divided lengthwise into a plurality of regions or sections, typically comprising an entry section, a resin injection section, a transition section and a profile section, which are joined together to create the desired die characteristics. Also disclosed is an adaptation die to convert a conventional non-injection die into an injection die. The adaption die comprises an entry section, a resin injection section and a transition section adapted for connection to the conventional die.

Pultrusion method for condensation resin injection

The present invention is a composite pultruded product and the method for its manufacture. The product is made with a plurality of longitudinal glass roving strands. In addition, a cellulosic mat is used in association with the roving. The mat serves as a filler, or reinforcing filler, to ensure uniform resin distribution within the product even when the glass content is significantly reduced. The method can be carried out on convention pultrusion equipment with little or no modification. The cellulose fiber mats may be either air laid or wet laid and should have an ultimate moisture of 3% or less before being incorporated into the pultruded product.

Hybrid pultruded products and method for their manufacture

The invention is a method for the on-line nondestructive determination of the internal bond strength of composite panel products. The method involves impinging an ultrasound pulse against the panel by a first transducer and receiving a transmitted pulse at a second transducer. The received signal strength, temperature and panel thickness are entered into an algorithm from which the internal bond may be calculated. Preferably the receiving transducer is located on the opposite side of the panel and displaced somewhat from the first transducer. The inclusion of temperature and panel thickness as independent variables greatly improves the accuracy over that available from uncorrected ultrasound testing.

Bond strength measurement of composite panel products

A vertical progressive lumber dryer has a plurality of vertically spaced functional zones through which lumber formed into units pass. Each unit rests atop a base and each layer of boards in the stack is separated by sticker means. Predetermined appropriate operating conditions are selected for the drying medium as well as other parts of the process. After a car has completed the last step within the dryer, it is removed and the dryed lumber sent for further processing.

Vertical progressive lumber dryer

The present invention is a method for measurement of moisture in dielectric materials. It is particularly useful for lumber. In the preferred version, at least two alternating current signals whose frequencies differ by a factor of at least 10 are capacitively coupled to the material. The coupling electrodes are in bridge circuits whose unbalance is measured at each frequency. The temperature of the dielectric material is also determined. Bridge unbalance signals are separated and rectified and the voltages, as well as a temperature analog voltage, are entered into a microprocessor programmed with a suitable algorithm to calculate a temperature corrected moisture value. The method overcomes significant inaccuracies in moisture readings due to temperature dependency.

Growing community of inventors

Puyallup, WA, United States of America

Frank C Beall