MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BRAIDED REINFORCED COMPOSITES

This work presents the study that is being done at University of Minho concerning the development of braided reinforced composites for civil engineering purposes. A research study has been undertaken to understand the mechanical behaviour of core reinforced braided fabrics. Various samples have been produced using polyester fibers, for the production of the braided fabric, and glass, carbon, polyethylene and sisal fibers, for the core reinforcement. The results of tensile and bending tests carried out in the correspondent core reinforced braided fabrics obtained are presented and discussed. Moreover, the influence of the testing conditions and the braiding angle is also presented and discussed. In order to produce braided reinforced composite rods to be used as concrete reinforcement, a special technique has been developed using a standard vertical braiding machine. The tensile and bending properties of braided reinforced composite rods have been evaluated and the results obtained are presented, discussed and compared with those of conventional materials, such as steel