The influence of binder tow density on the mechanical properties of spatially reinforced composites. Part 2 - Mechanical properties

The mechanical properties of the resulting composites were assessed using standard flexural, inter-laminar shear, open-hole tension and compression after impact tests. It has been shown that as the binder tow stitch density was increased, the compression after impact strength also increased while the inter-laminar shear properties were relatively unaffected. It is also shown that the flexural and inter-laminar shear properties were influenced by the composite reinforcement architecture, the proximity of the 0° and 90° layers with respect to the neutral axis and specifically the presence of the ±45° (off-axis) tows affects overall performance in flexural and ILSS loading.