On the design, manufacture and testing of trajectorial fibre steering for carbon fibre composite laminates

Trajectorial fibre steering of composite tows within composite laminates ha s been investigated as a means of producing composite structures with incre ased strength. Strategies to design the fibre trajectories in laminates hav e included aligning the fibres with principal stress vectors and a newly de veloped concept of load paths. In the laminate, the steered plies were inte r-mingled with unidirectional or fabric plies. A manufacturing technique fo r the steered plies has been proposed. Applications include a specimen cont aining an open hole and a specimen with a pin-loaded hole. Specific strengt h increases of 62 and 85%, respectively, were achieved. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.