During the weaving process, damages to yarns are observed and can lead to severe loss of mechanical properties in the final woven material. A complete and detailed analysis of the different steps, from the yarn spinning to the three-dimensional interlock weaving, has been carried out to measure the loss of properties of para-aramid warp and weft yarns. Thanks to special devices adapted to the weaving process, the maximum values of loss of mechanical properties are 10% for the warp yarns and 6% for the weft yarns. Among the different three-dimensional warp interlocks tested (orthogonal, throughthe-thickness and layer-to-layer), best results in limiting warp yarn damage are obtained considering the through-the-thickness three-dimensional interlock fabric and for the weft yarn damage the layer-to-layer three-dimensional interlock fabric. The main interest of these results is to obtain an optimized solution after a weaving process on three-dimensional woven interlock fabrics. Moreover, thanks to the study we can realize that a three-dimensional weaving process could lead to damage the yarns and the structure before the final use as composite material.

In today’s scenario, numerous studies have shown a great interest on 3D woven structures like 3D warp interlock fabric as a fibre reinforcement for composite material to provide a better impact than 2D laminated fabrics with unlinked structures in the thickness. The impact energy absorption capacity depends on different and independent parameters, including the shape and speed of the projectile, the type of fibrous structure (geometry), the type and nature of the threads (raw material, linear density, and twisting value), and the type of impregnation of the composite material. As part of our research work on hard impact protection solutions, the interest of textile composite structures, in particular those integrating 3D warp interlock fabrics, has been revealed. Based on the result, protection solutions with such fabric structure revealed larger dynamic deformation capacity for absorbing the impact energy as compared with not only a ceramic material facing a 12.7 mm ammunition (mass 43 g) at 610 m/s but also those solutions made with metallic materials facing a FSP (diameter 20 mm, mass 54 g) at 630 m/s and 1600 m/s. For each of these different threats, a specific type of composite material has to be used. These composite material solutions are mainly defined to respond to the appropriate mode of impact behaviour.

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