Day 8 – Hybrid Fabrics, Combining Best Properties

The term ‘Hybrid’ when applied to composite materials, refers to the combination of at least two or more types of fibres in one weave of cloth. Countless examples of these fabrics exist as well as the applications they are applied to.

Most commonly we will see carbon fibre woven in with glass or aramid (Kevlar? for the untrained ??) fibre. As much for the cosmetic appearance of sporting goods as they are for their functional properties in aircraft seat structures, high-performance sails for racing yachts and even hockey sticks.

‘Fail Safe’ structures for race cars that can absorb massive amounts of impact force are commonly built with hybrid fabrics of carbon & aramid. This hybrid allows the vehicle’s body panels to remain solid & stiff and resist deforming under high air loads at high speeds. The aramid fibre will keep the panel from totally disintegrating under impact loads in an accident.

The carbon fibre is brittle and fractures easily, whereas the aramid is extremely tough and adsorbs enormous amounts of energy before breaking.

HYBRID FABRICS

Dyneema is a high-density polyethylene fibre that is 15 times stronger than steel and is extremely tough, and when combined with carbon fibre provides a material that is ductile and absorbs impact energies in structures.