Tensile behaviours of woven fabrics and laminates

The tensile strength of woven fabrics made of staple fibres was investigated. It was found that the tensile strength is greater than the total strength of the yarns in the testing direction; this is attributed to the so called fabric assistance. When a filament was employed, the fabric assistance was not as pronounced because of the smooth filament surface. Laminates with various layers of glass fabric were fabricated and their tensile strength was measured. Comparison of the tensile strength was made between laminates with different layers. The results showed that the strength of the multi-layer laminates was proportional to the increased number of layers. Bending behaviours of laminates with various layers were also investigated in the research.