ABSTRACT
Textile composites are finding increasing use in structural applications along with unidirectionally reinforced laminated composites. They are characterized by good impact resistance, damage tolerance, high toughness, dimensional stability over a large range of temperature, subtle conformability, and ease of manufacture. But the in-plane properties are compromised by using the reinforcements in a fabric form. Even though textile composites offer many advantages, their application is mostly limited to secondary structural components and nonstructural products. The main deterrent to the use of textile composites in primary structures is the lack of understanding of their behavior under stress. For the confident and effective use of textile composites, quantitative assessment of their properties is essential.
