Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
227 words
A fiber-reinforced, pre-stressed laminate adapted for use as a structural component of an air craft, comprising: at least two sheets of an aluminum alloy, each of said sheets having a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to less than 1 mm and a tensile strength of greater than 350 N/mm 2 ; an adhesive layer located between each adjacent pair of said sheets, said adhesive layer comprising a thermohardening material disposed between the sheets to bond an adjacent pair of the sheets together; aromatic polyamide fibers disposed in each said adhesive layer to reinforce the laminate, said fibers comprising poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide yarns made up of endless filaments formed from a material having a modulus of elasticity in the range of 5×10 4 to 25×10 4 N/mm 2 and an elongation at breakage of at least 2%, said yarns being disposed in substantially straight parallel lines in the adhesive layer and being present in an amount of 20 to 80% by weight based on the combined weight of the thermohardening material and the yarns, said laminate in an unloaded state having in its entirety a compressive stress of up to 300 N/mm 2 in each of the sheets and a tensile stress in each said adhesive layer, the thickness of each of the sheets being greater than the thickness of each said adhesive layer containing said fibers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
227 words
A fiber-reinforced, pre-stressed laminate adapted for use as a structural component of an air craft, comprising: at least two sheets of an aluminum alloy, each of said sheets having a thickness in the range of 0.1 mm to less than 1 mm and a tensile strength of greater than 350 N/mm 2 ; an adhesive layer located between each adjacent pair of said sheets, said adhesive layer comprising a thermohardening material disposed between the sheets to bond an adjacent pair of the sheets together; aromatic polyamide fibers disposed in each said adhesive layer to reinforce the laminate, said fibers comprising poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide yarns made up of endless filaments formed from a material having a modulus of elasticity in the range of 5×10 4 to 25×10 4 N/mm 2 and an elongation at breakage of at least 2%, said yarns being disposed in substantially straight parallel lines in the adhesive layer and being present in an amount of 20 to 80% by weight based on the combined weight of the thermohardening material and the yarns, said laminate in an unloaded state having in its entirety a compressive stress of up to 300 N/mm 2 in each of the sheets and a tensile stress in each said adhesive layer, the thickness of each of the sheets being greater than the thickness of each said adhesive layer containing said fibers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of each of the sheets is in the range of 0.1 to 0.7 mm.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 2, wherein the thickness of each of the sheets is in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 mm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compressive stress in each of the sheets is up to 200 N/mm 2 .
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the yarns are arranged in one or more groups.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the yarns are in the form of a woven fabric.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 6, wherein the woven fabric has 7 to 11 yarns per cm, each of said yarns having a linear density in the range of decitex 1200-2000 and containing 750-1250 filaments.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 7, wherein the woven fabric has 9 yarns per cm, each of said yarns having a linear density of approximately decitex 1610 and containing approximately 1000 filaments.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
15 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laminate includes at least three sheets.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the sheets comprises a sheet of an aluminum-copper alloy.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 10, wherein the aluminum-copper alloy is of the type AA (USA) No. 2024-T 3 .
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the sheets comprises a sheet of an aluminum-zinc alloy.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 12, wherein the aluminum-zinc alloy is of the type AA (USA) No. 7075-T 6 .
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the yarns are present in each said adhesive layer in an amount of 45 to 55% by weight based on the combined weight of the thermohardening material and the yarns.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filaments are formed from a material having a modulus of elasticity in the range of from 10×10 4 to 15×10 4 N/mm 2 .
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
80 words
A laminate as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the crack propagation rate of the laminate in millimeters per cycle of varying load is at least two times less than the crack propagation rate seen when the laminate is not reinforced with fibers, and in that the number of varying load cycles before breakage is at least two times greater than the number of varying load cycles prior to breakage seen when the laminate is not reinforced with fibers.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
75 words
A process for making the laminate of claim 1, comprising: providing a fiber-containing adhesive layer between each adjacent pair of sheets to bond the sheets together, thereby forming a laminate structure; and applying an external tensile force to the laminate to impart a specific elongation to the entire laminate that is greater than the specific elastic elongation of the sheets and less than the specific elongation at breakage of the fibers and of the sheets.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
25 words
A process as claimed in claim 17, wherein the sheets are subjected to plastic deformation during application of the external tensile force to the laminate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
A process as claimed in claim 17, wherein the specific elongation imparted to the laminate is in the range of 0.2 to 1.8%.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
A process as claimed in claim 19, wherein the specific elongation imparted to the laminate is approximately 0.6%.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
115 words
A process for making the laminate of claim 1, comprising: providing a fiber-containing adhesive layer between each adjacent pair of sheets to bond the sheets together, thereby forming a laminate structure; and applying an external tensile force to the fibers contained in each said adhesive layer to bring about a specific elongation less than the elongation at breakage of the fibers; curing the adhesive layer while maintaining the application of external tensile force to the fibers; and removing the external tensile force upon completion of the curing step, whereby said laminate has a compressive stress in each of the metal sheets and a residual tensile stress in the fibers contained in each said adhesive layer.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
18 words
A process as claimed in claim 21, characterized in that the sheets are not subjected to plastic deformation.