Investigation of the mechanical and forming behaviour of 3D warp interlock carbon woven fabrics for complex shape of composite material

Composite materials which are reinforced with 3D warp interlock fabrics have outstanding mechanical properties such as higher delamination resistance, ballistic damage resistance and impact damage tolerance by means of their improved structural properties. Textile reinforcements are exposed to large deformations in the production stage of composite materials which have complex shape. Although good formability properties of 3D warp interlock fabrics in forming process were already proven by recent studies, further information is needed to elucidate forming behaviours of multi-layer fabrics which is produced with high stiffness yarns like carbon. In this study, 3D warp interlock carbon fabrics were produced on a prototype weaving loom and the same carbon yarn was used in two fabric directions with equal number of yarn densities. Fabrics were differentiated with regard to the presence of stuffer warp yarn, weave pattern and parameters of binding warp yarn which are angle and depth. Therefore, the effect of fabric architecture on the mechanical and formability properties of 3D warp interlock carbon fabrics could be clarified. Three different breaking behaviours of fabrics were detected and they were correlated with crimp percentages of yarn groups. In addition, the bending and shear deformations were analysed in view of parameters of fabric architectures. Two distinct forming behaviours of fabrics were determined according to the distribution of deformation areas on fabrics. Moreover, the optimal structure was identified for forming process considering the fabric architecture.

Yarn degradation during weaving process and its effect on the mechanical behaviours of 3D warp interlock p-aramid fabric for industrial applications

Three dimensional (3D) warp interlock fabric becomes a promising structure due to its good mechanical performances. However, its complex manufacturing process can cause severe yarn damage and affects its overall final performances. The current study addressed the effects weaving process and warp yarn ratios on the multi-filaments yarn degradations and its mechanical performances while 3D warp interlock fabric manufacturing. Four different 3D warp interlock variants having similar fabric architecture, and yarn densities but different warp yarns interchange ratios were manufactured using 930dTex high-performance multi-filament (Twaron® f1000). The multi-filaments yarns at different weaving processes were tested for their tensile properties. The results show that the average tensile strength of twisted yarns show a decrement of 5.68% as compared to the bobbin yarns. Meanwhile, warping process also showed a 16.11% maximum breaking load reduction as compared to the bobbin yarn. Besides, the tensile strength of binding yarn after weaving process for samples 3D-8/0, 3D-8/4, and 3D-8/8 was reduced by 12.79%, 5.22%, and 14.22% respectively as compared to the yarn after warping process. In conclusion, yarn degradation inside the 3D woven structure was affected not only by the various process parameters but also by the type of fabric architecture made with different warp yarn ratios. These phenomena ultimately bring a great influence both on the yarn and overall mechanical performance of the final products. For this, further studies are planned to investigate the multi-filaments yarn degradation effect on the ballistic performances fibrous material as it is directly linked to the yarn performance.