Load-bearing composite panels, materials, and products and processes to make and use same

Abstract

Load-bearing composite panels, materials, and products made by surrounding with a long fiber and/or fiber cloth reinforced polyurethane resin, an assembly containing one or more load-bearing members, graphene, a structural polyurethane/resin sandwich composite and/or spider silk protein fiber-cloth-continuous fibers. The composite structures can provide stronger, lighter-weight structural items such as vehicle floor and body panels, bullet-proof anti-ballistic panel products, vehicle bullet-proof anti-ballistic body panel structures and floors, bullet-proof vests, vehicle chassis, monocoque chassis, motor homes chassis-bodies, fuselage floors and frames for aircraft and/or UAV's, bicycle and motorcycle frames, wind turbine blades frames and structures, ship or boat haul body structures, shipment containers, pre-fabricated walls of buildings, train structure body or floor panels, solar panel supports, battery housings, mobile home walls, roof modules, truck beds, and truck trailer floors. Such composite panels, materials, and products can also be utilized in artificial organs, ligaments or tendons, artificial disc vertebrae, ropes, and 3D printing parts.

1 - 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A composite material comprising:
 a plurality of coupled layers including:
 at least one backing or surface layer; and 
 a core layer coupled to the at least one backing or surface layer; 
   wherein:
 the core layer comprises a plurality of cells; 
 at least one of the plurality of coupled layers includes a material that is fibrous; and 
 at least one of the plurality of coupled layers comprises a composite matrix comprising at least one non-silk polymer and a silk fibroin material which is derived at least in part from expression of one or more spider silk genes within at least one living organism. 
   
     
     
         30 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the plurality of cells form a honeycomb-like structure. 
     
     
         31 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the at least one backing or surface layer comprises the composite matrix. 
     
     
         32 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the core layer comprises the composite matrix. 
     
     
         33 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the core layer is coupled to the at least one backing or surface layer with a continuous fiber-reinforced polymer layer. 
     
     
         34 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the silk fibroin material includes at least one of silk fiber and silk polypeptides in a non-fibrous form. 
     
     
         35 . The composite material of  claim 34 , wherein the silk polypeptides in a non-fibrous form forms at least a portion of the composite matrix of at least one layer of the plurality of coupled layers. 
     
     
         36 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the silk fibroin material includes at least one of a plurality of long fibers of varying lengths and a plurality of short fibers comprised of a variety of lengths. 
     
     
         37 . The composite material of  claim 36 , wherein the long fibers have lengths of more than 3 mm and the short fibers have lengths less than the shortest of any of the lengths of the plurality of long fibers. 
     
     
         38 . The composite material of  claim 36 , wherein the long fibers make up 0.5 wt. % to 99 wt. % of the combined weight of the plurality of coupled layers. 
     
     
         39 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the silk fibroin material comprises electro-spun silk. 
     
     
         40 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the silk fibroin material includes at least one of a silk fiber, a silk weave, a silk cloth, and a silk mat. 
     
     
         41 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the at least one non-silk polymer includes at least one of a thermoplastic polymer and a thermoset polymer. 
     
     
         42 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the at least one non-silk polymer comprises polyurethane reaction product of one or more isocyanates and at least one isocyanate-reactive component. 
     
     
         43 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the plurality of coupled layers includes at least one of a polyurethane polymer, a polycarbonate polymer, a polypropylene polymer, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer, a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer, a polyamide (nylon) polymer, a glass-filled polyamide polymer, an epoxy resin, silver, gold, titanium, steel, stainless steel, wax, a photopolymer, high density polyethylene (HDPE), polycarbonate-acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS) polymer, and polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) polymer. 
     
     
         44 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of coupled layers includes a fibrous material that includes at least one of a silk fiber, a silk weave or cloth, and a silk mat. 
     
     
         45 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein the plurality of coupled layers is an article of manufacture selected from a land vehicle frame, an air vehicle frame, a sea vehicle frame, a land vehicle panel, an air vehicle panel, and a sea vehicle panel. 
     
     
         46 . The composite material of  claim 45 , wherein the article of manufacture includes at least one of a load-bearing structure, non-load-bearing structure, and a decorative or aesthetic structure. 
     
     
         47 . The composite material of  claim 29 , wherein at least a portion of the composite matrix is derived by injection molding, reaction-injection molding, chopped-fiber injection, extrusion, molding, film casting, web coating, spray-coating, weaving, vacuum injection, or 3D printing. 
     
     
         48 . A method of making a composite material comprising:
 providing at least one non-silk polymer and silk fibroin material derived at least in part from expression of one or more spider silk genes in at least one living organism;   combining at least a portion of the silk fibroin material and the at least one non-silk polymer material to form a mixture;   forming a composite matrix from at least a portion of the mixture using a process of injection molding, reaction-injection molding, chopped-fiber injection, extrusion, molding, film casting, web coating, spray-coating, weaving, vacuum injection, and 3D printing;   forming a plurality of coupled layers wherein at least one of the layers includes at least a portion of the composite matrix,   the plurality of layers comprising:   at least one backing or surface layer and a core layer including a plurality of cells, the core layer coupled to the at least one backing or surface layer; and wherein the at least one of the plurality of coupled layers includes a material that is fibrous.