Near net-shape panels and processes therefor

• Main Authors: Curtis Curt Brian, Sanchez James Timothy, Prather Randall Maurice, Aho Eric Joseph, Garten Scott Alan, Stephens Brian Dominic, Schulte Michael Dominic
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 16.05.2017
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; BLASTING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TOTRANSPORTATION; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HEATING; LIGHTING; MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAMTURBINES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; STEAM ENGINES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRANSPORTING; WEAPONS; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

Processes for producing near net-shape panels and panels formed thereby. The processes include forming a preform to comprise a stack of multiple plies that contain an uncured expandable foam material. The preform has regions that differ from each other by the number and/or volume of the plies therein. The preform and its plies are then cured within a restricted volume to produce a near net-shape panel. The curing step causes the expandable foam material to expand, and the restricted volume is sized so that the number and volume of the plies within the regions of the preform cause zones within the panel to have different densities and/or thicknesses.