Mechanical reinforcement of three-dimensional spacer fabric composites

Three-dimensional (3-D) spacer fabric composite is a novel lightweight sandwich structure, the reinforcement of which is integrally woven with two facesheets connected by continuous fibers (named piles) in the core. Usually the 3-D spacer fabric composite without extra reinforcement is called mono-spacer fabric composite, which provides outstanding facesheet/core debonding resistance. However, its mechanical properties cannot meet the demand of structure application because of the thin facesheet and low load-bearing capacity of high piles. Hence, two reinforcement methods were developed by laminating additional weaves at the facesheet and filling foam materials in the core to strengthen the facesheet and piles, respectively. This paper aims to investigate the influences of reinforcement methods on the mechanical behaviors and damage modes of 3-D spacer fabric composites under flatwise compressive, shear, edgewise compressive and three-point bending loads, by comparing with mono-spacer fabric composites. The results indicate that additional weaves reinforcement can enhance edgewise compressive and flexural properties effectively. Foam filling is one of the best options to improve the flatwise compressive and shear properties, and especially, there are synergistic effects between piles and foam under flatwise compressive load. Besides, the failure modes of reinforced and mono-spacer fabric composites are different.