Articles made from composite materials having toughened and untoughened regions

1. An article including:

a body comprising a composite material having at least one toughened region and at least one untoughened region, the toughened region comprising a toughening agent selected from the group consisting of polymers, nano fibers, nano particles, and combinations thereof

wherein the toughened region comprises a toughened resin having a fracture toughness of at least about 1.0 MPa-m 1/2 .

2. The article of claim 1 wherein the composite material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of carbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber, and combinations thereof.

3. The article of claim 1 further comprising a transition region between each toughened region and untoughened region.

4. The article of claim 3 wherein the transition region is positioned in an orientation selected from the group consisting of planar, normal to the plane, and combinations thereof.

5. The article of claim 1 wherein the article comprises a fan casing.

6. The article of claim 1 further comprising at least one toughened flange coupled to the at least one toughened region wherein the toughened flange is selected from the group consisting of mounting flanges, attachment end flanges, and combinations thereof.

7. The article of claim 1 wherein the untoughened region comprises an impact zone.

8. A fan casing including:

a body comprising a composite material having at least one toughened region and at least one untoughened region, the toughened region comprising a toughening agent selected from the group consisting of polymers, nano fibers, nano particles, and combinations thereof

wherein the untoughened region comprises an impact zone and wherein the toughened region comprises a toughened resin having a fracture toughness of at least about 1.0 MPa-m 1/2 .

9. The fan casing of claim 8 wherein the composite material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of carbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber, and combinations thereof.

10. The fan casing of claim 8 further comprising a transition region between each toughened region and untoughened region.

11. The fan casing of claim 10 wherein the transition region is positioned in an orientation selected from the group consisting of planar, normal to the plane, and combinations thereof.

12. The fan casing of claim 8 further comprising at least one toughened flange coupled to the at least one toughened region wherein the toughened flange is selected from the group consisting of mounting flanges, attachment end flanges, and combinations thereof.

13. A gas turbine engine including:

a fan casing having body made from a composite material comprising at least one toughened region and at least one untoughened region, the toughened region comprising a toughening agent selected from the group consisting of polymers, nano fibers, nano particles, and combinations thereof; and

a transition region between each toughened region and untoughened region wherein the composite material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of carbon fiber, glass fiber, ceramic fiber, graphite fiber, aramid fiber, and combinations thereof and wherein the toughened region comprises a toughened resin having a fracture toughness of at least about 1.0 MPa-m 1/2 and the untoughened region comprises an untoughened resin having a fracture toughness of less than about 1.0 MPa-m 1/2 .

14. The turbine engine of claim 13 further comprising at least one toughened flange coupled to the at least one toughened region wherein the toughened flange is selected from the group consisting of mounting flanges, attachment end flanges, and combinations thereof.

15. The turbine engine of claim 13 wherein the untoughened region comprises an impact zone.

16. The turbine engine of claim 13 wherein the transition region is positioned in an orientation selected from the group consisting of planar, normal to the plane, and combinations thereof.