Abstract
Fiber orientation distribution and the maximum volume fraction of three dimensional fabric composites have been studied systematically. The fiber structures which could be fabricated were shown to be derived from the polyhedra that completely filled up the three dimensional space. Then, an analytical study was carried out to clarify the relationship between the fiber construction and the composite properties, i.e. elastic moduli and thermal expansion coefficients, based on the previously proposed analytical model. Although the complete isotropy of the moduli was obtainable theoretically by adequately placing 6 fiber orientation axes, it was difficult to fabricate the preform by this number of fiber axes. Among the practicable preforms, that with 7 fiber orientation axes was shown to be most useful for tailoring the thermomechanical properties because it could afford to yield wide spectrum of properties ranging from strong anisotropy to near isotropy.
