As a continuation of previous work [McIlhagger R, Quinn J, McIlhagger A, Wilson S, Simpson D, Wenger W. The influence of binder tow density on the mechanical properties of spatially reinforced composites. Part 1 - impact resistance. Composites Part A 2007;38:795801], this paper examines the mechanical properties of advanced spatially Reinforced Composites (SpaRC). Complex multi-axis, multilayer reinforcements were produced with a range of binder tow stitch densities on a specially developed loom and these samples were impregnated with an aerospace certified epoxy resin system (RTM6) using a resin transfer moulding process.The mechanical properties of the resulting composites were assessed using standard flexural, inter-laminar shear, open-hole tension and compression after impact tests. It has been shown that as the binder tow stitch density was increased, the compression after impact strength also increased while the inter-laminar shear properties were relatively unaffected. It is also shown that the flexural and inter-laminar shear properties were influenced by the composite reinforcement architecture, the proximity of the 0 degrees and 90 degrees layers with respect to the neutral axis and specifically the presence of the +/- 45 degrees (off-axis) tows affects overall performance in flexural and ILSS loading. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weaving of preforms for the manufacture of structural aerospace composites has been at the forefront of engineering textile technology since the development of composites for structural applications on commercial aircraft. The advantages available through the use of not only preforms but engineered textiles, promises reduced cycle times for part manufacture and increased specific performance in terms of impact and damage tolerance. 5 axis weaving (SpaRC) weaving holds the most promise at present as a viable technique for the manufacture of engineered reforms with tailored properties including off axis reinforcement. This paper outline some of the result form a development project completed by University of Ulster and Bombardier Aerospace (Shorts Bros Pic). Results are presented from various mechanical tests performed on preforms woven on a bespoke automatic 5 axis loom. In addition to this discussion is presented on the future applications available to 5 axis preforms.

This paper examines the influence of binder tow stitch density on the impact performance of advanced composite structures. Spatially reinforced composite reinforcements with multi-axis, multi-layer structures were woven on a specially developed loom. The binder tow stitch density, which was used to consolidate the structure, was varied in the range of 1–4 binder tow stitches/cm2 (10×10mm to 5×5mm binder tow stitch spacing). A drop weight impact test (6.7J/mm of composite thickness) was used to damage the samples. Both the depth of penetration and the damage area were measured after impact. The analysis of the results has shown that as the binder tow stitch density was increased the extent of damage decreased. The weave architecture, in terms of the relative position of the ±45° tows, was also shown to be a significant factor, the nearer the off-axis tows are to the impact surface the greater was the damage area.