Claims
- 1. A reinforced thermoplastic article comprising a) a first thermoplastic layer; and b) a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite that contains a thermoplastic resin and a plurality of continuous reinforcing fibers impregnated with the resin, wherein the first thermoplastic layer is thermoformed or blow-molded to the thermoplastic composite.
- 2. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic resin of the composite is a depolymerizable and repolymerizable polymer containing structural units of the formula:
- 3. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic composite includes an engineering thermoplastic polyurethane having a Tg of not less than 50° C.
- 4. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic composite is impregnated with at least 50 volume percent of reinforcing fibers that extend through the length of the composite.
- 5. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic layer comprises ABS, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, acetate, acrylic-polyvinyl chloride copolymer, thermoplastic polyurethane, or polystyrene.
- 6. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic resin of the composite is selected from the group consisting of polyesters, polyamides, polysulfones, polyoxymethylenes, polypropylene, polyarylene sulfides, polyphenylene oxide/polystyrene blends, polyetherether ketones, and polyetherketones.
- 7. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 which includes a second thermoplastic layer that is thermoformed to the thermoplastic composite to form a reinforced twin sheet thermoform.
- 8. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 7 wherein the first and second thermoplastic layers include ABS and the thermoplastic composite includes an engineering thermoplastic polyurethane having a Tg of not less than 50° C.
- 9. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 which further includes an adhesive layer between the first thermoplastic layer and the thermoplastic composite.
- 10. The reinforced thermoplastic article of claim 1 which is in the shape of a boat hull, a table top, an automotive seat structure, a non-automotive seat structure, a golf cart roof, a pallet, or skis.
- 11. A process for preparing a reinforced thermoplastic article comprising the step of thermoforming or blow-molding a first thermoplastic sheet to a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite that contains a thermoplastic resin and a plurality of continuous reinforcing fibers impregnated with the resin.
- 12. The process of claim 11 wherein the thermoplastic resin of the composite is a depolymerizable and repolymerizable polymer containing structural units of the formula:
- 13. The process of claim 11 wherein the thermoplastic composite includes an engineering thermoplastic polyurethane having a Tg of not less than 50° C.
- 14. The process of claim 11 wherein the thermoplastic composite is impregnated with at least 50 volume percent of reinforcing fibers that extend through the length of the composite.
- 15. The process of claim 11 which is carried out by a thermoforming process.
- 16. The process of claim 15 which is a plug assist process.
- 17. The process of claim 15 which is a drape process.
- 18. The process of claim 15 which is a twin sheet process.
- 19. The process of claim 11 which is carried out by a blow-molding process.
CROSS-REFERENCE STATEMENT
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No. 60/261,927, filed Jan. 16, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60261927 |
Jan 2001 |
US |