Experimental study of mechanical properties of 3D braided aramid/carbon fiber composites

Fiber-reinforced composites were widely used in aerospace, automotive, and wind energy industries, due to their lightweight, high specific strength and stiffness, design flexibility, and durability. This study prepared hybrid fiber preforms using a three-dimensional braided technique. These preforms made of carbon fiber (CF) and aramid fiber (AF) were reinforced into resin-based (ER) composites by a vacuum infusion process (VIP). Our study focused on evaluating the mechanical properties of these composites under different blend arrangements and ratios, with four blend arrangements including layer-by-layer, half-by-half, bundle-by-bundle, and block-by-block. The results showed that the bending strain of the composites with a 3:1 aramid fiber/carbon fiber yarn ratio (3AF1CF) increased by 105.56% compared to that of CF/ER, and the addition of AF improved the toughness of the composite. The tensile strength and modulus of the composites with a 3:1 carbon fiber/aramid fiber yarn ratio (1AF3CF) were improved by 31.17% and 109.68%, respectively, compared to those of AF/ER, and the bending strength and modulus increased by 106.12% and 115.32%, respectively, and increasing the CF ratio thus significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composites. In addition, in four hybrid arrangements with the same AF/CF ratio, the aramid fiber/carbon fiber yarn ratio of 2:2 (2AF2CF-4) possessed the best mechanical properties, with tensile strength and of 608.36 MPa and 13.8 GPa, and bending strength and modulus of 417.203 MPa and 22.9 GPa, respectively.