Polymer-Based Three-Dimensional (3D) Textile Composites

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Fibers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2023) | Viewed by 10954

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Textile Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China
Interests: 3D textile composites; 3D textile design; braided composites; impact deformation and failure; interface control; carbon nanotubes; electromagnetic shielding and absorption; vibration analysis; mechanical property
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Interests: composite materials and structural mechanics; experimental solid mechanics; nondestructive testing and health monitoring

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Three-dimensional (3D) textile composites refer to composites using high-performance fiber, yarn or fabric, especially fabric as reinforcement. In this kind of composites, because fibers are intertwined with each other not only in the two-dimensional plane, but also in the thickness direction, the composites form a network and non-layered overall structure. Thus, this material has excellent interlayer properties and other mechanical properties and is widely used in aerospace, rail transit, energy, and other high-tech fields. In the past few years, the new application of 3D textile composites has promoted great progress in this field. Compared with laminated composites, because yarns are intertwined in the interior of 3D textile composites, it has better integrity and delamination resistance. However, it also makes the failure mechanism of 3D textile composites more complex, which brings great challenges to the research of structural design, damage evolution, interface properties, and so on.

Recognizing the importance of experimental research, mechanism characterization, and theoretical simulation in understanding the properties of 3D textile composites at different scales and under various conditions, this Special Issue of Polymers invites contributions addressing several aspects of 3D textile composites, such as the formulation of new constitutive modeling for 3D textile composites; the experimental means and methods, damage evolution model, and simulation of 3D  textile composites under static, fatigue, and impact loads; the development direction of research on property damage evolution of 3D textile composites; the characterization of the damage mechanism of 3D textile composites; macro and micro mechanical property tests related to damage; macro and micro strength criteria and strength design of 3D textile composites; the study of service performance of 3D textile composites in the lifecycle; interface design and properties of 3D textile composites; etc. The above list is only indicative and by no means exhaustive; any original theoretical or simulation work or review article on 3D textile composites is welcome. We hope that these contributions will involve the application of 3D textile composites in aerospace, rail transit, shipbuilding, construction biology, or medical treatment.

Dr. Xiaoyuan Pei
Prof. Dr. Xuefeng Yao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 3D textile composites
  • damage characterization
  • damage evolution models and simulation
  • experimental techniques
  • interface design and performance
  • structure of 3D textile composites

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 5223 KiB  
Article
Effect of Fiber Fraction on Ballistic Impact Behavior of 3D Woven Composites
by Xiaoping Shi, Ying Sun, Jing Xu, Li Chen, Ce Zhang and Guoli Zhang
Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15051170 - 25 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1936
Abstract
This paper studies the ballistic impact performance of 3D woven composites (3DWCs) with hexagonal binding patterns. Para-aramid/polyurethane (PU) 3DWCs with three kinds of fiber volume fraction (Vf) were prepared by compression resin transfer molding (CRTM). The effect of Vf on [...] Read more.
This paper studies the ballistic impact performance of 3D woven composites (3DWCs) with hexagonal binding patterns. Para-aramid/polyurethane (PU) 3DWCs with three kinds of fiber volume fraction (Vf) were prepared by compression resin transfer molding (CRTM). The effect of Vf on the ballistic impact behavior of the 3DWCs was analyzed by characterizing the ballistic limit velocity (V50), the specific energy absorption (SEA), the energy absorption per thickness (Eh), the damage morphology and the damage area. 1.1 g fragment-simulating projectiles (FSPs) were used in the V50 tests. Based on the results, when the Vf increases from 63.4% to 76.2%, the V50, the SEA and the Eh increase by 3.5%, 18.5% and 28.8%, respectively. There are significant differences in damage morphology and damage area between partial penetration (PP) cases and complete penetration (CP) cases. In the PP cases, the back-face resin damage areas of the sample III composites were significantly increased to 213.4% of the sample I counterparts. The findings provide valuable information for the design of ballistic protection 3DWCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Three-Dimensional (3D) Textile Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 7863 KiB  
Article
Study on Curing Deformation of Composite Thin Shells Prepared by M-CRTM with Adjustable Injection Gap
by Ce Zhang, Ying Sun, Jing Xu, Xiaoping Shi and Guoli Zhang
Polymers 2022, 14(24), 5564; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14245564 - 19 Dec 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1740
Abstract
A composite thin shell with a high fiber volume fraction prepared by resin transfer molding (RTM) may have void defects, which create deformations in the final curing and lead to the final product being unable to meet the actual assembly requirements. Taking a [...] Read more.
A composite thin shell with a high fiber volume fraction prepared by resin transfer molding (RTM) may have void defects, which create deformations in the final curing and lead to the final product being unable to meet the actual assembly requirements. Taking a helmet shell as an example, a multi-directional compression RTM (M-CRTM) method with an adjustable injection gap is proposed according to the shape of the thin shell. This method can increase the injection gap to reduce the fiber volume fraction during the injection process, making it easier for the resin to penetrate the reinforcement and for air bubbles to exit the mold. X-ray CT detection shows that the porosity of the helmet shell prepared by the newly developed technology is 36.6% lower than that of the RTM-molded sample. The void’s distribution is more uniform, and its size is decreased, as is the number of voids, especially large voids. The results show that the maximum curing deformation of the M-CRTM-molded helmet shell is reduced by 13.7% compared to the RTM molded sample. This paper then further studies the deformation types of the shell and analyzes the causes of such results, which plays an important role in promoting the application of composite thin shells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Three-Dimensional (3D) Textile Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 5998 KiB  
Article
Effect of Braiding Architectures on the Mechanical and Failure Behavior of 3D Braided Composites: Experimental Investigation
by Di Zhang, Xitao Zheng, Jin Zhou, Xinyi Song, Pu Jia, Haibao Liu and Xiaochuan Liu
Polymers 2022, 14(9), 1916; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091916 - 8 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2178
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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°. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Three-Dimensional (3D) Textile Composites)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 9017 KiB  
Article
Electromagnetic Wave-Absorbing and Bending Properties of Three-Dimensional Gradient Woven Composites with Triangular Sections
by Huawei Zhang, Xinghai Zhou, Yuan Gao, Ying Wang, Yongping Liao, Liwei Wu and Lihua Lyu
Polymers 2022, 14(9), 1745; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091745 - 25 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1645
Abstract
In order to solve defects such as poor integrity, delamination failure, and narrow absorption bandwidth, three-dimensional (3D) gradient honeycomb woven composites (GHWCs) with triangular sections were designed and prepared. Three-dimensional gradient honeycomb woven fabric was crafted with carbon fiber (CF) filaments and basalt [...] Read more.
In order to solve defects such as poor integrity, delamination failure, and narrow absorption bandwidth, three-dimensional (3D) gradient honeycomb woven composites (GHWCs) with triangular sections were designed and prepared. Three-dimensional gradient honeycomb woven fabric was crafted with carbon fiber (CF) filaments and basalt fiber (BF) filaments as raw materials on an ordinary loom. Then, the 3D honeycomb woven fabric filled with rigid polyurethane foam was used as the reinforcement, and epoxy resin (EP) doped with carbon black (CB) and carbonyl iron powder (CIP) was conducted as the matrix. The 3D GHWC with triangular sections, which had both EM-absorbing and load-bearing functions, was prepared by the VARTM process. Through the macro test and micro characterization of 3D GHWCs with triangular sections, the overall absorbing properties and mechanical properties of the materials were analyzed. Moreover, the EM-absorbing mechanism and failure mode of the materials were clarified in this work. The results indicated that the CF filament reflective layer effectively improved the EM-absorbing and mechanical properties. Adding a CB/CIP-absorbing agent enhanced the overall EM-absorbing property but reduced the mechanical properties. The increasing number of gradient layers increased the maximum bending load, but the EM-absorbing performance first increased and then decreased. When the thickness was 15 mm, the maximum bending load was 3530 N, and the minimum reflection loss (RLmin) was −21.6 dB. The synergistic effects of EM-absorbing and mechanical properties were the best right now. In addition, this work provided a feasible strategy that adjusting the type of absorber and gradient aperture size ratio could meet the unique requirements of absorbing frequency and intensity, which has excellent application prospects in civil and military fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Three-Dimensional (3D) Textile Composites)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 7854 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Woven Spacer Fabric Sandwich Composite Panels: A Review
by Yeran Wang, Junmei Liu, Lixia Jia and Zhenhong Chen
Polymers 2022, 14(17), 3537; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173537 - 29 Aug 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2538
Abstract
Because of the advantageous characteristics of strong integrity, lightweight, high performance, and various designs, woven spacer fabric (WSF) and its composite are extensively used in construction, traffic, and aerospace, among other fields. This paper first describes the WSF structure, including core yarns and [...] Read more.
Because of the advantageous characteristics of strong integrity, lightweight, high performance, and various designs, woven spacer fabric (WSF) and its composite are extensively used in construction, traffic, and aerospace, among other fields. This paper first describes the WSF structure, including core yarns and cross-linking, and then discusses the influence of the processing parameters, among angle of the wall decisive the failure mode on the plate properties. Moreover, we summarize the molding and filling technology of WSF composite sandwich panels and discuss the process order, resulting in a significant effect on the stiffness of the sandwich composite plate; the current processing is mostly hand lay-up technology. In addition, we introduce the core and matrix material of the sandwich composite plate, which are mainly polyurethane (PU) foam and epoxy resin (70% of matrix material), respectively. Finally, the mechanical properties of WSF composite sandwich panels are summarized, including bending, compression, impact, shear, and peel properties. Factors influencing the mechanical properties are analyzed to provide a theoretical basis for future plate design and preparation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Three-Dimensional (3D) Textile Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop