GB2225282A - Fibre reinforced foam structural components - Google Patents

Fibre reinforced foam structural components Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2225282A
GB2225282A GB8823052A GB8823052A GB2225282A GB 2225282 A GB2225282 A GB 2225282A GB 8823052 A GB8823052 A GB 8823052A GB 8823052 A GB8823052 A GB 8823052A GB 2225282 A GB2225282 A GB 2225282A
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GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
structural component
component
fibre reinforcements
low density
reinforcements
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB8823052A
Other versions
GB8823052D0 (en
GB2225282B (en
Inventor
Michael Sean Barron
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Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to GB8823052A priority Critical patent/GB2225282B/en
Publication of GB8823052D0 publication Critical patent/GB8823052D0/en
Publication of GB2225282A publication Critical patent/GB2225282A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2225282B publication Critical patent/GB2225282B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04—BUILDING
    • E04C—STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS; BUILDING MATERIALS
    • E04C2/00—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels
    • E04C2/02—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials
    • E04C2/10—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of wood, fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like; of plastics; of foamed products
    • E04C2/20—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of wood, fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like; of plastics; of foamed products of plastics
    • E04C2/205—Building elements of relatively thin form for the construction of parts of buildings, e.g. sheet materials, slabs, or panels characterised by specified materials of wood, fibres, chips, vegetable stems, or the like; of plastics; of foamed products of plastics of foamed plastics, or of plastics and foamed plastics, optionally reinforced
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B5/00—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts
    • B32B5/22—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by the presence of two or more layers which are next to each other and are fibrous, filamentary, formed of particles or foamed
    • B32B5/24—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by the presence of two or more layers which are next to each other and are fibrous, filamentary, formed of particles or foamed one layer being a fibrous or filamentary layer
    • B32B5/245—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by the presence of two or more layers which are next to each other and are fibrous, filamentary, formed of particles or foamed one layer being a fibrous or filamentary layer another layer next to it being a foam layer
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B38/00—Ancillary operations in connection with laminating processes
    • B32B38/0004—Cutting, tearing or severing, e.g. bursting; Cutter details
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B5/00—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts
    • B32B5/18—Layered products characterised by the non- homogeneity or physical structure, i.e. comprising a fibrous, filamentary, particulate or foam layer; Layered products characterised by having a layer differing constitutionally or physically in different parts characterised by features of a layer of foamed material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/10—Inorganic fibres
    • B32B2262/101—Glass fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2262/00—Composition or structural features of fibres which form a fibrous or filamentary layer or are present as additives
    • B32B2262/10—Inorganic fibres
    • B32B2262/106—Carbon fibres, e.g. graphite fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2307/00—Properties of the layers or laminate
    • B32B2307/70—Other properties
    • B32B2307/72—Density
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
    • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
    • B32B2607/00—Walls, panels

Abstract

A low density structural component (10) comprises a plurality of rigid foam parts (11) extending parallel to one another, and a reinforcing layer (12) between each pair of adjacent foam parts. Each layer extends between two opposed surfaces (13, 14) of the component in a direction perpendicular to said opposed surfaces and contains fibre reinforcements (15, 16) which extend in a direction transverse to the two opposed surfaces and which are arranged in a criss-cross manner. The fibre reinforcements in each layer may comprise two unitary webs of unidirectional fibre reinforcements which may be impregnated with a polymeric material to bond the parts (11) and layers (12) together. <IMAGE>

Description

"Low Density Structural Components" This invention relates to low density structural components, particularly but not exclusively for use as core materials in structural members, such as structural panels.
Low density core materials usually in the form of rigid foams, honeycombs or balsa when used as core materials in sandwich composites make for structural panels of great rigidity, strength and low weight.
Sandwich panels incorporating honeycomb, foam and balsa materials are widely used in aircraft interiors, marine craft, racing cars and other applications where rigidity, weight saving and structural performance is a significant factor in their design.
Honeycomb materials however in general have higher mechanical strengths on a weight to weight basis than structural foams but are difficult and expensive to manufacture.
In one aspect the invention provides a low density structural component comprising a plurality of rigid foam parts extending parallel to one another, and a reinforcing layer between each pair of adjacent foam parts, each said layer extending between a pair of opposed surfaces of the component in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to at least one of said opposed surfaces and containing fibre reinforcements which extend in a direction transverse to said at least one opposed surface and which are arranged in criss-cross manner.
By "rigid foam" we mean a structural foam which, roughly speaking, has a compressive deformation at yield not exceeding 20% of the thickness of the specimen as tested.
Preferably, each said reinforcing layer comprises first and second sets of fibre reinforcements, the fibre reinforcements of each set extending substantially parallel to one another and transversely between said pair of opposed surfaces, and the fibre reinforcements of the first set extending in a direction transverse to the direction in which the fibre reinforcements of the second set extend.
Advantageously, each set is formed as a unitary web of unidirectional fibre reinforcements.
Preferably, the fibre reinforcements of the first and second sets extend at an angle of at least 300 to said at least one opposed surface of the component.
Each said layer may comprise a third set of fibre reinforcements extending substantially parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to said at least one opposed surface of the component.
Preferably, the fibre reinforcements extend continuously between said pair of opposed surfaces.
The foam parts and reinforcing layers may be secured together by bonding and/or welding.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method of making a low density structural component according to said one aspect of the invention and of panel-like form, comprising the steps of forming a low density block comprising a stack of rigid foam sheets secured together with a layer of orientated fibre reinforcements between adjacent sheets, and cutting the block in a direction transverse to, and preferably perpendicular to, the major surfaces of the rigid foam sheets.
The invention still further provides a structural member comprising a low density structural component according to said one aspect of the invention and of panel-like form, sandwiched between two facings.
The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a low density structural component according to the invention, Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of Figure 1 to illustrate the nature of the reinforcing layer, Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating a modification to the reinforcing layer of Figure 2, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a low density block from which the component of Figure 1 may be cut.
Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown therein a small piece of a low density structural component 10 of panel-like form. The component 10 comprises a plurality of elongate rigid foam parts 11 extending parallel to one another in the plane of the panel-like component 10, and a reinforcing layer 12 between each pair of adjacent foam parts.
Each reinforcing layer 12 extends over the entire length or width of the component 10 and through the component 10 from one major surface 13 to the other major surface 14 in a direction perpendicular to the major surfaces 13 and 14, although if the panel is wedge-shaped the layer 12 will be perpendicular to only one of the surfaces 13,14. Each layer is made up of a first set of fibre reinforcements 15 (shown in unbroken lines in Figure 2) and a second set of fibre reinforcements 16 (shown in dash-dot lines in Figure 2). The fibre reinforcements are arranged in an orderly manner with the reinforcements of each set extending substantially parallel to one another, and at an acute angle of at least 300, and typically 650, to at least one and in the case of a component of uniform thickness to both the major surfaces 13 and 14 .The reinforcements 15 also extend at an angle to the reinforcements 16 to form a criss-cross pattern as illustrated in Figure 2.
Each reinforcement 15,16 extends continuously from one to the other of the major surfaces 13 and 14.
In practice the fibre reinforcements 15, 16 of each set are arranged more closely adjacent to one another than is shown in Figure 2, and indeed in a preferred embodiment each set is formed as a unitary web of unidirectional fibre reinforcements bonded together.
The fibre reinforcements 15, 16 are high strength fibres, such as carbon fibres or glass fibres, and the foam parts 11 may, for example, be of polyetherimide foam.
The component 10 may be of any appropriate thickness, size and density and the shape of the component 10 may be other than rectangular.
The reinforcing layers 12 can be spaced from one another at any appropriate distance, although typically the distance between adjacent pairs of reinforcing layers 12 is between 0.5 cm and 2.00 cm.
Each reinforcing layer 12 could include more than two webs of unidirectional fibres 15,16 and indeed Figure 3 shows additional reinforcing fibres 17 (shown in dotted lines) which extend in a direction perpendicular to the major surfaces 13 and 14 of the component 10.
The foam parts 11 and the reinforcing layers 12 are secured together, such as by bonding and/or welding.
In order to make the component 10 it is convenient to firstly form a low density block 20 (see Figure 4) comprising a stack of rigid foam sheets 21 having a layer 22 of fibre reinforcements interposed between each adjacent pair of sheets. Each layer 22 may be made up of at least two webs of unidirectional fibre reinforcements arranged in criss-cross manner. In this case the webs may be impregnated with a polymeric material which is cured under pressure to bond the sheets 21 and layers 22 together.The block 20 is then cut in a direction transverse to, and preferably perpendicular to, the major surfaces of the rigid foam sheets 21, such as along cut lines 19, to form components 10 The components 10 have a strength comparable to that of known honeycomb materials of similar density and may be sandwiched between and bonded to two appropriate facings (not shown) to form a structural member, such as a panel, for use in, inter alia, aircraft interiors, marine craft and racing cars.
The above embodiment is given by way of example only and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, each reinforcing layer 12 could be formed from a tape comprising a plurality of fibres arranged side-by--side.
The tape is wound around the circumference of a cylindrical former along a first helical path and then back along a second helical path, the tape turns being bonded together in any appropriate manner, and the thus formed sleeve is slit to a form of reinforcing sheet.
Also, the block 20 could be used as a low density structural component and may ,for example, form the core of a beam.

Claims (13)

Claims
1. A low density structural component comprising a plurality of rigid foam parts extending parallel to one another, and a reinforcing layer between each pair of adjacent foam parts, each said layer extending between a pair of opposed surfaces of the component in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to at least one of said opposed surfaces and containing fibre reinforcements which extend in a direction transverse to said at least one opposed surface and which are arranged in criss-cross manner.
2. A structural component as claimed in Claim 1, wherein each said reinforcing layer comprises first and second sets of fibre reinforcements, the fibre reinforcements of each set extending substantially parallel to one another and transversely between said pair of opposed surfaces, and the fibre reinforcements of the first set extending in a direction transverse to the direction in which the fibre reinforcements of the second set extend.
3. A structural component as claimed in Claim 2, wherein each set is formed as a unitary web of unidirectional fibre reinforcements.
4. A structural component as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the fibre reinforcements of the first and second sets extend at an angle of at least 300 to said at least one opposed surface of the component.
5. A structural component as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein each said layer further comprises a third set of fibre reinforcements extending substantially parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to said at least one opposed surface of the component.
6. A structural component as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fibre reinforcements extend continuously between said pair of opposed surfaces.
7.. A structural component as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the foam parts and reinforcing layers are bonded together.
8. A structural component as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the foam parts and reinforcing layers are welded together.
9. A structural component as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the component is of panel -like form and each reinforcing layer extends between the major surfaces of the panel-like component.
10. A method of making the low density structural component of Claim 9, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a low density block comprising a stack of rigid foam sheets secured together with a layer of orientated fibre reinforcements between adjacent sheets, and (b) cutting the block in a direction transverse to the major surfaces of the rigid foam sheets.
11. A low density structural component made by the method of Claim 10.
12. A low density structural component substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
13. A structural member comprising a low density structural component according to Claim 9 or Claim 11 sandwiched between two facings.
GB8823052A 1988-09-30 1988-09-30 Fibre reinforced foam structural components. Expired - Lifetime GB2225282B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8823052A GB2225282B (en) 1988-09-30 1988-09-30 Fibre reinforced foam structural components.

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8823052A GB2225282B (en) 1988-09-30 1988-09-30 Fibre reinforced foam structural components.

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB8823052D0 GB8823052D0 (en) 1988-11-09
GB2225282A true GB2225282A (en) 1990-05-30
GB2225282B GB2225282B (en) 1992-07-15

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB8823052A Expired - Lifetime GB2225282B (en) 1988-09-30 1988-09-30 Fibre reinforced foam structural components.

Country Status (1)

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GB (1) GB2225282B (en)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007104577A1 (en) * 2006-03-16 2007-09-20 Innovida Factories, Ltd. Sandwich element
US8733033B2 (en) 2008-06-27 2014-05-27 Millport Associates, SA Sandwich panel ground anchor and ground preparation for sandwich panel structures
US8782991B2 (en) 2008-07-10 2014-07-22 Millport Associates S.A. Building roof structure having a round corner
US8875475B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2014-11-04 Millport Associates S.A. Multiple panel beams and methods
WO2018037016A1 (en) 2016-08-26 2018-03-01 Basf Se Fiber-reinforced foam material

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB577790A (en) * 1938-08-29 1946-05-31 Norman Adrian De Bruyne Improvements relating to the manufacture of light non-metallic structural material or components
GB1070890A (en) * 1965-09-07 1967-06-07 Midland Ross Corp A panel suitable for the floor of a cargo container
GB2188281A (en) * 1986-03-25 1987-09-30 Tidd Strongbox Ltd Structural panel

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB577790A (en) * 1938-08-29 1946-05-31 Norman Adrian De Bruyne Improvements relating to the manufacture of light non-metallic structural material or components
GB1070890A (en) * 1965-09-07 1967-06-07 Midland Ross Corp A panel suitable for the floor of a cargo container
GB2188281A (en) * 1986-03-25 1987-09-30 Tidd Strongbox Ltd Structural panel

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2007104577A1 (en) * 2006-03-16 2007-09-20 Innovida Factories, Ltd. Sandwich element
US8733033B2 (en) 2008-06-27 2014-05-27 Millport Associates, SA Sandwich panel ground anchor and ground preparation for sandwich panel structures
US8782991B2 (en) 2008-07-10 2014-07-22 Millport Associates S.A. Building roof structure having a round corner
US8875475B2 (en) 2013-03-14 2014-11-04 Millport Associates S.A. Multiple panel beams and methods
WO2018037016A1 (en) 2016-08-26 2018-03-01 Basf Se Fiber-reinforced foam material

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB8823052D0 (en) 1988-11-09
GB2225282B (en) 1992-07-15

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Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19921015