Braided Thin-Ply Tapes

Opterus proposes to develop braided thin ply composite tapes. The tapes will be braided from ultra-thin spread-tow unidirectional carbon and glass ribbons and will enable a new source and form factor for thin-ply textiles. The resulting tapes will be especially useful for thin high strain composite space deployable structures where they will allow bias plies in long parts without requiring seams. The tapes will also be applicable to automated placement processes where it is otherwise challenging to place plies in a bias orientation. In many cases, braided tapes are expected to be higher quality and offer increased design freedom over weaves. The 13 month program will involve analytical braid design, manufacturing of braids, prepregging, composite part fabrication, and coupon testing.