Influence of fabric woven styles on the permeability and mechanical properties of ramie fiber reinforced composites

The permeability of three typical ramie fiber woven fabrics (plain woven, twill woven and satin woven) was studied by resin transfer molding method(RTM). The tensile and interlaminar properties of the three ramie fabrics reinforced phenolic resin composites were also investigated. It is indicated that the permeability of ramie woven fabrics is mainly influenced by the crimp of the fiber and the flow area of the fabrics. The permeability of twill woven and satin woven fabrics is preferable, compared with that of plain woven ramie fabric. Tensile properties of twill woven and satin woven ramie fabric reinforced composites are better than that of plain woven counterpart due to less fiber crimps. It is also concluded that the woven styles of ramie fabrics do not show obvious effects on the interlaminar shear properties of the composites.