Thin Ply Composites

Large tows of carbon fiber can be spread by a simple, non-intrusive process from which plies down to 1/6 of the conventional 5-mil thickness can be obtained. Laminates made from such plies showed remarkable resistance to micro cracking, delamination and splitting under both static and fatigue loading. With thick-thin ply hybrids, superior performance, lower cost and lower minimum gage can all lead to applications not feasible with 5-mil thick plies.