Abstract: A pultrusion process comprises steps of: pulling a matrix of continuous reinforcement fibers through a wet-out chamber and forming die while injecting thermoplastic resin (e.g. thermoplastic polyurethane) into the wet-out chamber, and providing secondary stations that remove, reform, and/or add material downstream of the forming die using heat and pressure to form a final beam shape with integrally-formed features thereon. The reinforcement matrix is optimally glass fiber, but can include different types of reinforcements, including strands, bundles, mats, weavings, rods, and other reinforcements and combinations of reinforcements, each of which can be strategically located in the beam profile. The final beam includes intermittent or continuous specialized features integrated into the beam along its length, allowing reduction of material waste, reduced/minimized later assembly, and reduced total number of parts.

Abstract: A contaminant detection system includes a transmitter for transmitting a guided wave through the skin at particular resonances, wherein each resonance point utilized will have propagation characteristics sensitive to a condition of interest. A contaminant may then be classified by transmitting several resonances and then carrying out appropriate feature extraction and pattern recognition techniques utilizing a host processor.