Efficient and Low‐Damage z‐Direction Carbon Fiber Implantation Process for Manufacturing Three‐Dimensional Composite Preforms

ABSTRACT Aiming at the problems of low efficiency, large yarn damage, and high labor cost during the traditional manual guide‐to‐yarn replacement process of flexible‐guide three‐dimensional preform, a novel method of multiple guide‐to‐yarn replacement is proposed. Firstly, the relationship between the height of the guide array and its deformation is explored by an image analysis method, and the principle of the multiple guide‐to‐yarn replacement method is clarified. And then, the four‐wire method is used to quantify the fiber damage. The efficiency of the method is discussed by means of experiment and comparison. Further, the yarn locking ability is analyzed. Finally, three‐dimensional composite samples are prepared to carry out compression tests. The results show that reducing the height of the guide array can increase the contact area from 0 to 0.49 mm ² . Compared with the traditional method, the yarn damage of the multiple guide‐to‐yarn replacement method is relatively reduced by 22.47%, the yarn locking ability is equivalent, the forming efficiency is 8.05 times faster than that of the traditional manual method, and the compressive strength of the sample is increased by 12.64%–13.31%. The above work provides technical support for the efficient and high‐quality production of the flexible‐guide three‐dimensional weaving.