US 11,752,708 B2
Uncured composite structures, cured composite structures, and methods of curing uncured composite structures
Patrice K. Ackerman, Kent, WA (US); and Gwen Marie Lanphere Gross, Redmond, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Sep. 10, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/471,553.
Prior Publication US 2023/0080641 A1, Mar. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. B29C 70/46 (2006.01); B29C 70/34 (2006.01); B29C 35/02 (2006.01); B29K 307/04 (2006.01)
CPC B29C 70/34 (2013.01) [B29K 2307/04 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of curing an uncured composite structure that includes a structural layer, which includes an uncured structural resin with a structural resin viscosity, and a surface layer, which includes an uncured surface resin with a surface resin viscosity that is greater than the structural resin viscosity, the method comprising:
initially heating the uncured composite structure to an initial temperature to generate a partially cured composite structure, wherein the initially heating is sufficient to gel the uncured surface resin but insufficient to gel the uncured structural resin; and
subsequently heating the partially cured composite structure to a final cure temperature, which is greater than the initial temperature, to generate a cured composite structure, wherein a combination of the initially heating and the subsequently heating is sufficient to fully cure both the uncured surface resin and the uncured structural resin.