Determination and impact of fibre angle deviations in automated processing of carbon fiber non-crimp fabrics

Automated production technologies such as draping are increasingly being used to produce dry fibre preforms for structural components made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The manufacturing advantage over prepreg processes lies in the formability of the dry fibres and textile semi-finished products and thus in the possibility of complex shaping. However, this flexibility is accompanied by a change of fibre orientation during processing, which in turn significantly determines the mechanical properties of the composite material. Even small fiber angle deviations of a few degrees can have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the final component. Consideration of this variance can so far only be taken into account to a limited extent in the development of fibre composite components, as the relationships between manufacturing effects and the mechanical properties are not comprehensively known [1].