Positive reinforcement: 21st century 3D weaving

What does a textile loom invented more than 200 years ago have to do with 21st-century aircraft engines and high-performance cars?

It turns out the centuries-old art of weaving by loom may hold the key to producing much stronger and more complex carbon-fibre composite structures.

Composites are traditionally produced by placing layers of material on top of one another and infusing them with resin.

However, this means that there is nothing holding the layers of material together, other than the resin itself. As a result, composites can start to come apart when a load is applied to them, in a process known as delamination, said Dr Jody Turner, a research engineer at Sheffield University’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing. “It can result in a problem called inter-laminar shear stress, which is where the plies start to separate,” she said.

By using a loom to weave the material, engineers can introduce a reinforcing fibre running through the thickness of the fabric, to connect the layers together. This results in a 3D composite material that is better able to cope with impacts, or loads such as bending, without delaminating.