Design on the driveshaft of 3D 4-Directional carbon fiber braided composites

In this paper, the method of designing a drive shaft with a 3D 4-Directional braided composite structure is proposed. First, the tubular unit cell model of 3D 4-Directional braided composite is established for obtaining the engineering elastic constants and the strength values of the tubular braided composite. Also, the relationship among the shear modulus, the braided angles and the fiber volume fraction is analyzed. Second, an orthogonal anisotropic tubular model with a fiber volume fraction of 50% and a braided angle of 45° is established to predict the torsional strength, torsional stiffness and virbration modes of the 3D braided composite drive shaft. Finally, the parameterized design with the thickness of the tubular is used to calculate the ultimate torque of the drive shaft, also the optimal drive shaft size is given and the 60.18% weight loss is achieved. This work will play an important role in the lightweight design of the 3D 4-Directional braided composite drive shaft.