Patent ID: 7105120

Claim:
A method of moulding a composite panel to have two opposed outer skins of fibre-reinforced plastics material and a polymer mortar core therebetween, comprising the steps of: providing an openable mould having inner and outer mould sections defining a mold cavity having two principally opposed surfaces and an injection port through which a polymer mortar matrix is introduced into the cavity; opening the mould and placing within the cavity respective layers of fibre reinforcement adjacent both the principally opposed surfaces, subsequently to form said opposed outer skins; closing the mould and injecting polymer mortar matrix through the injection port into the cavity, between the respective layers of fibre reinforcement placed in said cavity adjacent the principally opposed surfaces; and applying sufficient pressure to the injected polymer mortar matrix to ensure resin penetration of both of said layers; in which method the injected polymer mortar matrix comprises a resinous material loaded with a particulate aggregate the density of which is greater than that of the resinous material contained within the polymer mortar matrix, and the mesh of both of the layers of fibrous reinforcing material is on average less than the average particle size of the aggregate whereby the two layers of the reinforcing material filter the particulate aggregate from the polymer mortar matrix to allow only the resinous material to penetrate said two layers of reinforcing material, thereby to form said composite panel with a polymer mortar core formed between said two skins.