Design, manufacture, and experimental analysis of 3D honeycomb textile composites part I: Design and manufacture

Textile composites have the advantage of being strong and lightweight over the conventional materials, and thus have found applications in many areas, most notably for materials used in aircraft. In this two-part paper, the engineering design and characterization of 3D honeycomb composites are described on the basis of an attempt to create a novel type of composite material which is extra lightweight and voluminous. The first part of the paper explains the basic concept of 3D honeycomb composites, and the procedure of design and manufacture of 3D honeycomb fabrics and composites. An algorithm has been established to create weaves based on the specification of the 3D honeycomb composite parameters, and this algorithm has been implemented into a computerized procedure which gives accurate solutions for making reinforcing fabrics of this type. It has been demonstrated that 3D honeycomb textile composites with various structural parameters can be engineered. Four groups of honeycomb composites, involving 14 varieties, have been systematically created for the first time in order for the experimental analysis of the honeycomb composites to be carried out. A simple yet effective method for making honeycomb textile composite is described in Part I. The experimental analysis and the results will be described in Part II of this paper. © 2008 Sage Publications.