Page 29 - 3D Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

18 30 Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

Flat, multilayer fabrics are not the only structures that can be woven on standard looms.
By correctly programming the sequence in which the warp yarns are lifted it is possible
to weave a fabric with slits that can be opened out to form a complex three-dimensional
structure. This concept is illustrated in Figure 2.6, which demonstrates how I-beams and
box structures can be formed from, initially, flat fabric. An example of such an
integrally woven I-beam is shown in Figure 2.7 and these types of components have
already been used in the civil engineering field (Muller et al., 1994). A reasonable range
of shaped products can be formed in such a way however more advanced forms of 3D
weaving are capable of producing more complex preforms.

H

Slits woven into the preform

Figure 2.6 Production of shaped components from flat multilayer preforms

Figure 2.7 Formation of composite I-beam from a flat multilayer preform (courtesy of
the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures, Ltd)