A modified system for design and analysis of 3D woven preforms

This paper describes a modified system to predict the properties, in particular the areal density and z-axis fibre content, of a 3D woven preform. Previously a model used had incorporated an idealised tow path to describe the placement of a warp tow within the fabric. The idealised tow path was found to provide some correlation between predicted and actual values particularly for integrated type structures. It was realised however that the idealised yam model did not truly reflect the actual tow path for an interlinked type structure. Hence a modified model still using a lenticular cross-section, but incorporating a more realistic path for the through-the-thickness part of the binder is put for-ward as an alternative. Following the procedure used in previous work, fabrics were produced and tested. Predictions made using the modified-model were shown to have a closer correlation than previously in terms of both areal density and percentage z-axis fibre prediction. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.