Method of aligning fibrous components of composite materials using standing planar compression waves

摘要

Standing planar compression waves are used to control the spacing and alignment of previously randomly distributed and randomly oriented loose fibrous elements in a fluid medium. Standing planar compression waves are established within the medium by a magnetostrictive or piezoelectric transducer. The fibrous elements gravitate to the nodes of the standing waves and align themselves parallel to the vibrating surface of the transducer. The composite material may be solidified by cooling (or other process), which freezes the fibrous elements in an aligned array, thereby effecting the directional dependency of various structural properties of the composite material (including compression strength, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity).