Effect of Braiding Architectures on the Mechanical and Failure Behavior of 3D Braided Composites: Experimental Investigation

Benefiting from the multi-directional load-bearing capability, the three-dimensional braided composites (3DBC) have found a wide application in primary structures. It is therefore of great importance to fully understand their mechanical behavior and failure modes. In the present paper, the tensile and compressive tests were carried out, according to standardized testing methods, for eight types of 3DBC, which were manufactured by resin transfer molding (RTM). It was found that the mechanical properties of the 3DBCs decreased with an increasing braiding angle. When the braiding angle was 2⁰ 3D 5-directional braided composite (3D5dBC) exhibited the best mechanical properties, while for the braiding angle of 4⁰ the mechanical properties of 3D6dBC were the most prominent. Moreover, the tensile strength of the 3DBCs is approximately two times as much as the compressive strength; however, the compressive modulus is always 10% higher than the tensile modulus. The failure modes of the 3DBCs with a braiding angle of 2⁰ greatly depended on the braiding structures. However, they tend to be consistent when the braiding angle increases to 40.