The manufacture of glass/epoxy composites with multilayer woven architectures

Multilayer, integrally woven preforms have been constructed from E-glass yam in three different weave architectures with the in-plane fibres exhibiting minimum crimping. Microscopic examination of the architectures after resin transfer moulding revealed that the binder yam arrangement and compaction pressure have a strong influence on the distribution of fibres and resin-rich areas. However, preliminary mechanical testing indictated that, for the preforms investigated, the final weave architecture does not have a significant influence on the tensile mechanical performance of the composite structure. A procedure is described for producing a geometric model of the architecture of such multilayer woven preforms which may then be used for their visualisation and to quantify geometric characteristics for use in further analysis. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Limited. All rights reserved.