Wet-Laid Inorganic Fiber Prepreg for Simpler Composite Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of fiber-reinforced composite materials is cumbersome and costly due to complex manufacturing processes, and there is a need for materials with improved mechanical strength, lightweightness, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the mixing of inorganic fibers with thermoplastic fibers to produce an inorganic fiber wet-laid nonwoven fabric, followed by drying to create a prepreg, simplifying the process and enhancing productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional prepreg manufacturing methods (solution impregnation or hot melt process) are used, then fiber-reinforced composite materials can be produced, but the manufacturing process becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines inorganic fibers and thermoplastic fibers into a single wet-laid nonwoven fabric structure, merging two separate material preparation steps into one integrated process. This eliminates the need for separate resin impregnation steps while maintaining composite material quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary mixing and bonding of inorganic and thermoplastic fibers in a wet-laid nonwoven fabric before final composite material formation. This preliminary structuring simplifies subsequent processing steps and reduces manufacturing complexity.
2Reliability
If conventional prepreg manufacturing methods are used, then fiber-reinforced composite materials can be produced, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges fiber mixing, resin application, and bonding operations into a single wet-laid nonwoven fabric formation process, significantly reducing the number of sequential steps required and improving manufacturing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary intermediate steps from conventional prepreg manufacturing, such as separate resin impregnation and multiple bonding cycles, retaining only the essential fiber consolidation and bonding operations.
3Strength
If inorganic fibers are used for composite materials, then mechanical strength and EMI shielding are improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces thermoplastic fibers as an intermediary material that facilitates the handling and processing of inorganic fibers. The thermoplastic component acts as a binder that simplifies fiber consolidation and bonding operations while maintaining the mechanical strength benefits of inorganic fibers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a hybrid composite structure combining inorganic fibers (for strength and EMI shielding) with thermoplastic fibers (for processability). This composite approach maintains the performance advantages of inorganic fibers while improving ease of manufacture through the complementary properties of thermoplastic materials.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces energy consumption and operating costs while improving mechanical strength, lightweightness, and EMI shielding effectiveness of the resulting composite materials.
Implementation Method 1
mixing inorganic fibers with thermoplastic fibers to produce an inorganic fiber wet-laid nonwoven fabric
Implementation Method 2
drying the inorganic fiber wet-laid nonwoven fabric to produce a prepreg
Data Source
AI summary
Proposed are a prepreg, an inorganic fiber composite material including the same, and a method for manufacturing the inorganic fiber composite material, in which an inorganic fiber wet-laid nonwoven fabric is produced by mixing inorganic fibers with thermoplastic fibers and a prepreg is formed from the inorganic fiber wet-laid nonwoven fabric, thereby simplifying the process steps and improving productivity.