Selective laser treatment of carbon fiber composites

Unmet Need: Method for creating flexible carbon fiber reinforced polymers

Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are often used for their durability and light weight. However, it is difficult to use them in assembling complex structures without specialized tooling, jigs, mandrels, and manufacturing processes because CFRPs do not easily bend or conform to complex shapes.

The Technology: Precision curing of carbon fiber composites

This technology introduces a method to selectively create flexible and rigid regions in carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs). By using red and blue lasers, this technology can remove or cure binding material selectively to create structures with preconfigured bends and twists by design . This method can allow for the creation of more complex geometries in CFRPs with reduced use if tool ing or expertise . As such, this technology has the potential to increase the applications CFRPs can be used for including fabrication of deployable structures that are customized and optimized for various applications.

Applications:

Satellite components and launch vehicle structures
Aerospace structures
Deployable solar arrays
Lightweight support structures: bridges, domes, or roofs
Defense applications against blast and ballistic impact
Medical devices: stents and prosthetics
Disaster relief structures

Advantages:

Increases design flexibility
Simplifies manufacturing
Optimizes high-value material use
Cost-effective
High precision laser treatment

Lead Inventor:

Hayley Mcclintock, Ph.D.
Hod Lipson, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending

Related Publications:

McClintock H, Deng Y, Sheehan M, Lipson H. “Programmable laser curing of carbon fiber laminate structures” Research Square. 2023 Nov

Tech Ventures Reference:

Licensing Contact: Dovina Qu