Abstract
Three dimensional carbon fibre/epoxy resin composites were prepared with either three-axis or five-axis three-dimensional carbon fibre fabrics (3D-3A & 3D-5A) in four woven gauges, and embedded with teflon® film in the fabric structures to simulate various types of microcrack. The mechanical properties of these 3-D composites were measured. The tensile properties of 3D-5A were 20% lower than those of 3D-3A, and the compressive properties of 3D-5A were 10% lower than those of 3D-3A. In addition, the 3-D composites had better resistance to fracture than 2-D composites. Micrographs of failed samples reveal that under compression, the fracture plane of a 3-D composite grows, not along the microcrack direction, but perpendicular to the loading direction and extends toward the free end. Whereas for 2-D composites, the fracture plane grows along the microcrack direction and extends obliquely toward the free end.
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