Analytical Elastic Stiffness Model for 3D Woven Orthogonal Interlock Composites

This research presents the development of an analytical model to predict the elastic stiffness performance of orthogonal interlock bound 3D woven composites as a consequence of altering the weaving parameters and constituent material types. The present approach formulates expressions at the micro level with the aim of calculating more representative volume fractions of a group of elements to the layer. The rationale in representing the volume fractions within the unit cell more accurately was to improve the elastic stiffness predictions compared to existing analytical modelling approaches. The models developed in this work show good agreement between experimental data and improvement on existing predicted values by models published in literature.

The effect of 3D weaving and consolidation on carbon fiber tows, fabrics, and composites

This article investigates the damage imparted on load-bearing carbon fibers during the 3D weaving process and the subsequent compaction behavior of 3D woven textile preforms. The 3D multi-layer reinforcements were manufactured on a textile loom with few mechanical modifications to produce preforms with fibers orientated in the warp, weft, and through-the-thickness directions. Tensile tests were conducted on three types of commercially available carbon fibers, 12k HTA, 6k HTS, and 3k HTS in an attempt to quantify the effect of fiber damage induced during the 3D weaving process on the mechanical and physical performance of the fiber tows in the woven composite. The tests were conducted on fiber tows sampled from different locations in the manufacturing process from the bobbin, through the creel and loom mechanism, to the final woven fabric. Mechanical and physical testing were then conducted to quantify the tow geometry, orientation and the effect of compaction during manufacture of two styles of 3D woven composite by vacuumassisted resin transfer molding (VaRTM).