Abstract:

In order to introduce the binder yarns penetrating through the thickness of fabric in the warp direction to enhance the interlayer performance of woven reinforced composites, a narrow 3-D weaving system is developed. The cylinder is used as the main driver for the multiple heald-frames independent shedding opening, multi-tubular rapier weft insertion and beating-up. A programmable logic controller was used to achieve the coordinated operation of weaving process which resulted in warp and weft yarn tiled orthogonal and the binder yarn penetrating through the thickness of fabric for the effect of restraining of layers. The cut planes along three paths (warp, weft and binder yarn, respectively) of 3-D woven reinforced composite were obtained by the optical microscope. The geometric parameters include yarns crimp percentage, yarn cross-sectional areas and the representative unit cell were measured and the results show that the 3-D orthogonal non-crimp woven reinforcement can be achieved by the 3-D weaving system, which provided a reference for the automation and mass production of 3-D woven reinforcement.

Key words: 3-D weaving system, 3-Dwoven reinforce composite, binder yarn, cylinder