03. Fibers

Short Fibers have lengths as small as fractions of millimeters or as big as a few centimeters. Some general examples are felts, mats, and short fibers used in injection molding.

Long Fibers are cut during time of fabrication of the composite material and are used as cut, or woven

Some fiber materials are:

• Glass
• Aramid or Kevlar (very light)
  
• Carbon (high modulus or high strength)
• Boron (high modulus or high strength)
• Silicon carbide (high temperature resistant)

Fiber assembly for the fabrication of a composite material can take 3 forms:

• Unidimensional: unidirectional tows, yarns, or tapes
• Bidimensional: woven or nonwoven fabrics
• Tridimensional: fabrics with fibers oriented along many directions

Prior to creating the composite material te fibers are treated in order to:

• Decrease the abrasion action of fibers when passing through the forming machines
• Improve the adhesion with the matrix material