Custom-Made Reinforcement Structures Made of Inorganic Fibers Challenges, Chances and Technical Approaches

Abstract

Ceramic fibers are just as glass and basalt member of the group of inorganic fibers. Like most types of inorganic fibers ceramic fibers have a high tear resistance but a limited flexibility. [1] Ceramic fibers are characterized by their extraordinary high temperature and chemical resistance. These properties make them interesting for different high technical applications, as they occur in aerospace, chemical-and energy technology. In this field, they are applied especially as a reinforcement component in composite materials. Not only the partially high material price, but although the typical brittleness of ceramic fibers bring huge problems during the textile production chain, which limits the availability of complex textile preforms in the market. Often, a radical revision of the machine and processing concept is necessary to enable an economical production process. The Application Center for Textile Fiber Ceramics TFK at Fraunhofer-Center for High Temperature Materials and Design HTL develops and modifies textile production processes to make them suitable for the special requirements of ceramic fibers. One and multilayer woven fabrics, braids and tape structures for the winding process have already been successfully implemented. A further development complex is the intensive investigation of three-dimensional textile reinforcement structures. Regarding the high material costs, these research activities are very important. If the textile reinforcement is placed only where needed, the amount of used fiber material can be reduced significantly.