Patent — available for licensing
Continuous Fiber Composite for Use in Gears
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have developed a breakthrough means of adapting strong but lightweight carbon fiber composite material to fabricate structures of complex shape, such as specialized components for drive systems. Conventional methods of using discontinuous fiber composites for forming complex shapes can produce defects, including a tendency toward weakness and fatigue at the cut ends of the fibers. Glenn's novel technology instead uses multiple layers of formable continuous fiber composite material, eliminating the cut ends that form a potential site for failure, as well as filler materials between plies. Using this method, manufacturers can provide the optimum shape of the continuous plies and thus of the structure as a whole. The structure can then meet high specific strength and high cycle fatigue resistance requirements for rotorcraft gears and other applications, including aircraft, power generation such as wind turbine systems, unmanned vehicles, and urban air mobility (UAM). Glenn's innovation brings the advantages of carbon fiber composites to a broad range of new uses.