Johns Manville

Other

Nobel Biocere Ab

Michael John Block

Klaus Friedrich Gleich

Jawed Asrar

Mingfu Zhang

Asheber Yohannes

Derek Cooper Bristol

Christopher Paul Sandoval

Bjarne Kvarnstrom

Daniel P De Kock

Michael Luft

Scott Lipka

Raymond C Swann

Walter Alexander Johnson

Albert Patrick Faulkinbury

Stanislav Kukatin

Bradley Ray Lockwood

Edwing Chaparro-Chavez

Christopher McBride

Matthew Walp

Nicholas Gene Fitzpatrick

John VanNice

Yohannes Asheber

According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg includes a mechanism for moving a fabric or mat and a drying mechanism that removes residual moisture from at least one surface of the fabric or mat. The system also includes a resin application mechanism that applies a reactive resin to the fabric or mat and a press mechanism that presses the coated fabric or mat to ensure that the resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the coated fabric or mat is moved to polymerize the resin and thereby form a thermoplastic polymer so that upon exiting the oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with the thermoplastic polymer. During at least a portion of the process, humidity in the vicinity of the coated fabric or mat is maintained at substantially zero.

System for producing a fully impregnated thermoplastic prepreg

According to one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) prepreg includes a mechanism for continuously moving a fabric or mat and a resin application component that applies a methyl methacrylate (MMA) resin to the fabric or mat. The system also includes a press mechanism that presses the fabric or mat during the continuous movement subsequent to the application of the MMA resin to ensure that the MMA resin fully saturates the fabric or mat. The system further includes a curing oven through which the fabric or mat is continuously moved. The curing oven is maintained at a temperature of between 40&#xb0; C. and 100&#xb0; C. to polymerize the MMA resin and thereby form PMMA so that upon exiting the curing oven, the fabric or mat is fully impregnated with PMMA.

Methods of making fiber-containing prepregs are described. The methods may include the steps of providing a plurality of fibers, and applying a reactive resin composition to the plurality of fibers to make a mixture of the plurality of fibers and the resin composition. The reactive resin composition may include at least one of monomers and oligomers capable of polymerizing into a polymerized resin matrix. The mixture may be heated to a polymerization temperature where the monomers, oligomers, or both polymerize to form a fiber-resin amalgam that includes the polymerized resin matrix. The fiber-resin amalgam may be formed into the fiber-containing prepreg. Also described are methods of forming a fiber-reinforced composite that includes the prepreg.

Fiber-containing prepregs and methods and systems of making

Embodiments of the present technology may include a method of making a thermoplastic composite concentrates. The method may include melting a low-viscosity reactive resin to form a molten reactive resin. The method may also include fully impregnating a plurality of continuous fibers with the molten reactive resin in an impregnation device. The method may further include polymerizing the molten reactive resin to form a thermoplastic composite strand. In addition, the method may include chopping the thermoplastic composite strand into a plurality of pellets to form a plurality of thermoplastic composite concentrates.

Manufacturing thermoplastic composites and articles

Fiber-containing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) prepregs are described that include a first and second plurality of fibers. The second plurality of fibers is made from a different material than the first plurality of fibers. The PMMA prepregs also contain a polymerized resin that includes polymethyl methacrylate that has been formed from a reactive resin composition that includes methyl methacrylate. Methods of making fiber-containing PMMA prepregs are also described.

This invention relates to a process of making a fiber-reinforced composite. Glass fibers may be provided. These glass fibers may be treated with a sizing composition that has a coupling-activator compound with the formula: S&#x2014;X-(A), where S represents a silicon-containing coupling moiety capable of bonding to the surface of glass fibers, X represents a linking moiety, and (A), represents one or more polymerization activator moieties. The treated glass fibers may be combined with a resin to make a fiber-resin mixture. The resin may have a monomer, a catalyst, and an activator compound capable of initiating a polymerization of the monomer. The monomer may be a lactam or lactone having 3-12 carbon atoms in the main ring. The fiber-resin mixture may then be cured so that the monomer polymerizes to form a thermoplastic polymer matrix of the fiber-reinforced composite. The thermoplastic polymer matrix may be formed by in situ polymerization initiated from both the surface of the glass fibers and the resin. The fiber-reinforced composite formed may be at least 70 wt. % glass fiber.

Fiber reinforced composites made with coupling-activator treated fibers and activator containing reactive resin

Embodiments of the present technology may include a method of making a thermoplastic composite strand. The method may include melting a reactive thermoplastic resin to form a molten reactive resin. The method may also include fully impregnating a plurality of continuous fibers with the molten reactive resin in an impregnation device. The method may further include polymerizing the molten reactive resin to form a thermoplastic resin matrix. In addition, the method may include cooling the thermoplastic resin matrix to form a thermoplastic composite strand.

Methods of making fiber-resin compositions are described. The methods may include the providing of a thermoplastic resin to an extruder, where the thermoplastic resin may include at least one reactive moiety capable of forming a covalent bond with a coupling agent on a plurality of reactive fibers. The methods may further include combining the thermoplastic resin with the plurality of reactive fibers also supplied to the extruder. The reactive fibers are sized with the coupling agent that reacts with the thermoplastic resin to form the fiber-resin composition, which may be extruded from the extruder. Methods of making fiber-reinforced composite articles from the fiber-resin composition are also described.

Fiber-reinforced composites made with thermoplastic resin compositions and reactive coupling fibers

Methods of making a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane composite are described. The methods may include applying a sizing composition to a plurality of fibers to make sized fibers, where the sizing composition may include at least one curative for a thermoplastic polyurethane prepolymer. The sized fibers may be contacted with a thermoplastic polyurethane prepolymer composition to form a resin-fiber amalgam, where the thermoplastic polyurethane prepolymer composition includes 50 wt. % or less of a total amount of the curative that is also present on the sized fibers. The resin-fiber amalgam may then be cured to form the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane composite.

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Centennial, CO, United States of America

Michael John Block