Automated manufacturing of bio-inspired carbon-fibre reinforced polymers

Carbon-fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs) present outstanding mechanical performance per unit of mass; however, they also fail in a brittle manner, with little or no warning of their forthcoming catastrophic failure. In this study, a ‘brick-and-mortar’ design inspired by the structure of nacre was implemented by automated tape lay-up for the first time with the aim of changing the failure response of CFRPs. Standard procedures and materials...