Friction and damage of carbon fiber in tow-metal friction during the formation of flexible-oriented three-dimensional composite preforms

As the main structure of fiber-reinforced composite, the preform affected the mechanical properties of the composite. The forming of preforms is associated with the damage of fiber due to tow-metal friction, which can compromise the properties of the composite component. This study simulated the frictional behavior of carbon fibers during flexible-oriented three-dimensional woven process to reveal the mechanism of damage and determine the process window, and the effects of processing-related parameters on friction and carbon fiber were discussed. The normal load and pre-tension played a dominant role in generation of hairiness and wear, while the weaving speed had a minimal effect. The different parameters affected the damage of tow by changing the contact area between filament and metal. According to the results, the process window of pre-tension on filament was set to [0.083 mN, 0.183 mN]. The normal load should be within the window of pre-tension, as normal load was determined by pre-tension. The process window of weaving speed was set to [1 Hz, 5 Hz]. The optimized process parameters could improve the tensile strength of woven carbon fiber by 25.7%.