Unidirectional laminates

The properties of unidirectional composites are quite different from isotropic materials. Unidirectional materials are highly anisotropic and have exceptional properties in the fibre direction and mediocre properties perpendicular to the fibre directions. There are very few situations where composites are used purely in a unidirectional configuration. In most applications there will be some form of loading away from the direction of the fibres. In this situation, it is only the resin that resists this load which has no reinforcement. Hence composite structures are made by combining unidirectional laminates in different directions to resist these loads. These laminates are called multi directional laminates