Intralayer hybridization of triaxially braided composite lamina using carbon and basalt fibers: Experimental and numerical study

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the tensile properties of hybrid triaxially braided composites of carbon and basalt fibers. Two non-hybrid preforms and two hybrid preforms were prepared using a circular braiding machine. Then, the prepared preforms were fabricated by vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. Uniaxial tensile tests were performed in longitudinal and transverse directions. Experimental results showed improved tensile moduli in longitudinal direction when carbon and basalt fibers were used as axial and braid yarns, respectively. In general, most tensile properties improved when triaxially braided carbon composite material was hybridized with basalt fibers. In addition, an attempt was made to predict the tensile behavior of triaxially braided composites using meso-scale finite element modeling. Comparison of the results showed that the current meso-scale finite element modeling could not capture the nonlinear behavior of the hybrid composites. However, the linear responses were well predicted. Therefore, possible sources of error and solutions to overcome them were discussed.