Claims
- 1. A composite, fiber reinforced plastic structure having a wall portion defining a containment portion for the storage or passage of fluids or gases in contact therewith under high pressure, said wall portion comprising at least one layer comprising a plurality of continuous reinforcing fiberglass fibers having an average diameter of ≦about 10 microns impregnated in a resinous binder.
- 2. The article of claim 1 wherein said structure is a pipe comprising an elongated hollow tubular body and wherein said continuous fibers are disposed at an angle of 0° up to 90° with respect to the longitudinal pipe axis.
- 3. The pipe of claim 2 wherein said continuous fibers are disposed to form a helical filament winding pattern forming an angle between about +/−15° up to about +/−75° with respect to said longitudinal pipe axis.
- 4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said fibers comprise at least about 40% of the volume fraction of said wall portion.
- 5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said fibers comprise at least about 60% of the volume fraction of said wall potion.
- 6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said resinous binder is a thermoset resin.
- 7. The structure of claim 6 wherein said thermoset resin is an epoxy resin.
- 8. The structure of claim 1 wherein said fibers have an average diameter between about 3 and 9 microns.
- 9. The pipe of claim 2 wherein said wall structure comprises at least two fiber reinforced layers in fixed laminar contact, a first of said layers comprising said continuous fiberglass fibers having an average diameter of ≦about 10 microns impregnated in a resinous binder and disposed at an angle of 0° up to 90° with respect to said longitudinal pipe axis and a second layer containing continuous fiberglass fibers impregnated in a resinous binder and disposed at an angle with respect to said longitudinal pipe axis which differs from the angle of disposition of said fibers in said first layer.
- 10. The pipe of claim 9 wherein the fibers in said first layer are disposed at an angle of greater than +/−60° up to 90° with respect to said longitudinal pipe axis and the fibers in said second layer are disposed at an angle greater than about +/−30° up to +/−60° with respect to said longitudinal pipe axis.
- 11. The pipe of claim 9 wherein the fibers present in said second layer have an average diameter of ≦about 10 microns.
- 12. The pipe of claim 9 wherein said first layer of said pipe is an outer axial load-bearing layer.
- 13. The pipe of claim 9 wherein said first layer of said pipe is an internal hoop load-bearing layer.
Parent Case Info
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 833,157 filed Apr. 4, 1997.
US Referenced Citations (21)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
825080 |
May 1975 |
BE |
88055930 |
Apr 1988 |
DE |
0524512 |
Mar 1981 |
EP |
2165331A |
Apr 1986 |
GB |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/833157 |
Apr 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/410582 |
|
US |