• Composites Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.33-40
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• 2003

In order to overcome one of the most pronounced shortcomings of conventional laminated composites, such as the low damage tolerance due to delamination, the thermoplastic materials and 3D (three-dimensional) preforms have been utilized in the manufacture of composite materials. From the newly developed process termed as the co-braiding, hybrid yarns of the thermoplastic fibers (PEEK) and reinforcing fibers (carbon) have been fabricated. In order to further enhance the delamination suppression, through thickness fibers have been introduced by way of 3D weaving technique in the fabrication of textile preforms. The preforms have been thermoformed to make composite materials. Complete impregnation of the PEEK into the carbon fiber bundles has been confirmed. For the comparison of mechanical performance of 3D woven composites, quasi-isotropic laminates using APC-2/AS4 tapes have been fabricated. Tensile and compressive properties of both the composites have been determined. Furthermore. the open hole, impact and CAI(Compression After Impact) tests were also carried out to assess the applicability of 3D woven textile reinforced thermoplastic composites in aerospace structures.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.297-302
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• 2017

Finite element analysis of T-beam laminate structure under bending-torsional loading was conducted to prevent the delamination which is the major failure behavior on laminated composites. Three-dimensional preform, which is that fabric is braided through thickness direction, is suggested from the laminate analysis. The analysis aimed to optimize the fiber ratio in laminated composites. After it is suggested that guideline for design of T-beam structure using commercial software ANSYS Composites PrePost. The results show that strength of T-beam structure is increased 21.6% when the fiber density along with beam length direction is two times bigger than transverse direction. It is expected that development of high strength T-beam structure using designed three-dimensional preform.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.65-70
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• 2019

The aircraft composites wing parts are usually integrated with adhesive or fastener. These laminated composites have weak interlaminar strength, which can lead to delamination. In order to compensate the disadvantages of laminated composites, it is possible to improve the strength, durability, shock and fatigue resistance by reinforcing the fiber in the thickness direction. In addition, using a single structure near-net-shape saves the manufacturing time and the number of fasteners, thus can reduce the overall cost of the composite parts. In this study, compression test, tensile test and open-hole tensile test are carried out for three structural architecture of 3D (three-dimensional) textile preforms: orthogonal(ORT), layer-to-layer(LTL) and through-the-thickness(TTT) patterns. Among these, the orthogonal textile composite shows the highest Young's modulus and strength in tensile and compression. The notch sensitivity of the orthogonal textile composite was the smallest as compared with UD (unidirectional) and 2D (two-dimensional) fabric laminates.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2022

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, well known high specific strength and high specific stiffness, have been widely used in the aircraft industry. Mostly the CFRP structure is fabricated by lamination of carbon fiber or carbon prepreg, which has major disadvantage called delamination. Delamination is usually produced due to absence of the through-thickness direction fiber. In this study, three-dimensional carbon preform woven in three directions is used for fabrication of aircraft wing unit structure, a part of repeated structure in aircraft wing. The unit structure include skin, stringer and rib were prepared by resin transfer molding method. After, the 3D structure was compared with laminate structure through compression test. The results show that 3D structure is not only effective to prevent delamination but improved the mechanical strength. Therefore, the 3d preform structure is expected to be used in various fields requiring delamination prevention, especially in the aircraft industry.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.115-124
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• 2020

Laminate composites, especially Carbon fiber-reinforced composites are wide used in various industry such as aerospace and automotive industry due to their high specific strength and specific stiffness. However, the laminate composites has a big disadvantage that delamination occurs because the arrangement of the fibers is all arranged in the in-plane direction, which limits the field of application of the laminate composites. In this study, we first developed a laminate composites T-beam in which π-beam and flat plate were combined and optimized the design parameters through structural analysis and mechanical tests. Afterwards, 3D weave preform T-beam was developed by applying the same design parameters of laminate composites T-beams, and improved mechanical strength was achieved compared to laminated structures. These findings are expected to be applicable to existing laminated composite structures that require increased strength.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.269-276
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• 2022

In this paper, a composite stiffened panel was fabricated using a three-dimensional weaving method that can reduce the risk of delamination, and mechanical properties such as buckling load and natural frequency were investigated. The preform of the stringer and skin of the stiffened panel were fabricated in one piece using T800 grade carbon fiber and then, resin (EP2400) was injected into the preform. The compression test and natural frequency measurement were performed for the stiffened panel, and the results were compared with the finite element analyses. In order to compare the performance of 3D weaving structures, the stiffened panels with the same configuration were fabricated using UD and 2D plain weave (fabric) prepregs. Compared to the tested buckling load of the 3D woven panel, the buckling loads of the stiffened panels of UD prepreg and 2D plain weave exhibited +20% and -3% differences, respectively. From this study, it was confirmed that the buckling load of the stiffened panel manufactured by 3D weaving method was lower than that of the UD prepreg panel, but showed a slightly higher value than that of the 2D plain weave panel.