Fibers
This is the pump and die head on an 8CV polymerization reactor for extruding gel spun UHMWPE (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) ballistic fiber.
This is an R&D UHMWPE gel spinning line
with transitional cooling bath.
This is a section view of a rendering for the bi-directional die head. Implementing a design capable of converting from a downward feed to a lateral feed reduced time and cost for varied experiments on different processing techniques.
Microscopic image of fiber shows clear crack free surface
and thickness uniformity.
This is a mount of the fiber for cross-section analysis. There was a concern the process rollers were distorting the fiber cross-section. The fiber could not simply be cut and analyzed as the cutting would disturb its shape. The fiber was suspended under tension through a thin-walled tube which was filled with epoxy. Once the epoxy was cured, the tubing was sliced, revealing the fibers cross-section without distorting the fibers profile.
The is an Infra Red heat exposure experiment on an Instron tensile testing unit to observe fiber responsiveness under elevated temperature conditions.
This is another configuration for Infra Red heat exposure.
Pilot line concept for highly-oriented, ultra-high strength fiber production.
Single filament draw station concept
using IR laser heat source.
Stacked, modular single-filament, IR laser
fiber draw station concept
Fiber creels for multi-filament fiber line
This is an adjustable pitch comb on multi-filament fiber line. Adjusting the pitch, controls the fiber per inch or filament
per inch count, which along with resin/fiber percentage, determines areal density.
Carbon fiber filament winding process
Carbon fiber filament wound tube. Prototypes were evaluated for replacement of the heavy steel cylinders on hydraulic actuators for F16 landing gear systems.
Stacked multi-filament Spectra UHMWPE pre-preg sheets
Vest pattern cut Spectra UHMWPE pre-preg sheets
Vest pattern cut Spectra UHMWPE sheets
for soft armor application
Military issue vest
Resin impregnated Spectra UHMWPE pre-preg sheets are pressed in a mold at temperature and pressure, resulting in the helmet form pictured here.
Completed Spectra UHMWPE military issue helmet
Heavy armor rigid panels for use in vehicles, tanks, aircraft and ships. Thinner versions are also used as inserts in personal protective equipment (vests).
