Continuous Fiber Composite for Use in Gears

NASA's Glenn Research Center has developed a breakthrough means of adapting strong but lightweight carbon fiber composite material to fabricate structures of complex shape such as specialized components for drive systems. Conventional methods of using discontinuous fiber composites for forming complex shapes can produce defects including a tendency toward weakness and fatigue at the cut ends of the fibers. Glenn's novel technology instead uses multiple layers of formable continuous fiber composite material, eliminating the cut ends that form a potential site for failure, as well as filler materials between plies.