Influence of process induced defects for biaxial carbon fiber braids

The influence of different machine settings for the manufacture of biaxial carbon fiber braids is investigated using numerical models and compared with experimental results. For these studies different process parameters like yarn pre-tension and rotational speed of the bobbins have been varied to generate cylindrical biaxial braids with an average braid angle of +/- 45 degrees. From a test program the non-uniform distribution of the braid angle and cover factor is observed using image processing techniques of the produced samples. In parallel, ongoing work is using numerical simulations of the braiding process to identify defects, and investigations have been able to correlate numerical results with experimentally observed defects.