Kaiser Aerospace & Electronics Corp.

Stephen S Tan

H O Davis

James M Barrier

Leslie V Montford

Mark D Drey

Richard Holland

Reinforced composite tubes having integral tapered ends are formed on mandrels which are tapered at each end. Reinforcement fabric is first conformed to the mandrel with at least one end of the fabric structure retaining an opening therein. The mandrel is disassembled and removed through the opening, and a matrix cured within the fabric to produce the desired composite. Usually, the fabric structure will be cured in an external mold with an inflatable mandrel inserted through the opening applying internal pressure.

Methods for forming composite tubing having tapered ends

A connector system for joining a male tube to a female tube comprises an axially-split nut which extends across the region being joined. The female tube is externally threaded and mates with internal threads on one end of the axially-split nut. A shoulder formed in the other end of the axially-split nut engages a retaining ring formed on the male tube. A compressible seal ring is disposed between the end of the female tube and a second shoulder of the retaining ring. An external nut is placed over the axially-split nut to hold the entire assembly together and provide a radially compressive force on the seal ring. An axially compressive force can be provided by turning the female tube to draw the female and male tubes closer together.

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Albany, CA, United States of America

Stephen S Tan