Flexural response of composite beams made by Automated Fiber Placement process: Effect of fiber tow gaps

Automated Fiber Placement is one of the well-established composite fabrication techniques in both aerospace and automotive industries. However, new types of defects may be formed during the fiber steering due to replacing the prepreg sheets with the prepreg fiber tows. These defects can be a source of both intralaminar and interlaminar damages, which reduce the mechanical performance of the final products. Although the effect of these defects on...