Foster-miller, Inc.

Alliant Techsystems Inc.

Victor Leemon

John Player

Margaret E Roylance

Jack Allen Woods

Joseph S Boyce

Peter A Warren

Daniel E Bullock

Michael R Winter

Douglas T Thomson

John Williams

Jack A Woods

John C Player

A flexible hinge including a first set of plies and a second set of plies, and a hinge area where the first set of plies and the second set of plies bend. A damping material is disposed between plies of the first set and the second set at least at the hinge area thereof to control the deployment of the hinge.

Flexible, deployment rate damped hinge

A bi-directional device for ultrasonically consolidating a fiber reinforced composite structure including a horn which can be angled relative to the composite structure. The horn includes a tip at the distal end of the horn which terminates in a rounded face. The rounded face of the horn contacts the composite structure enabling the horn to be driven bi-directionally over the composite structure at an angle.

Device for ultrasonically consolidating fiber reinforced composite structures

A method of fabricating a thermosetting matrix, fiber reinforced composite structure wherein a stack of fiber reinforced thermosetting material plies are assembled; an ultrasonic horn is engaged with a top surface of the upper most ply, oriented at an acute angle with respect to the top surface, and energized to induce a shear wave in the plies to heat the plies. The horn is moved along the upper most ply to consolidate the plies and the energy level applied to the horn is sufficient to reduce the viscosity of the thermoset resin to the point where the plies can be debulked but not high enough to fully cross-link the resin so that another ply can still be fully cross-linked to the uppermost ply. Pressure is applied to the plies as the horn moves to debulk the plies.

Ultrasonic method of fabricating a thermosetting matrix fiber-reinforced composite structure and the product thereof

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Mansfield, MA, United States of America

Victor Leemon