Conventional randomly-oriented Tow Based Discontinues Composites (TBDCs) are materials which combine good mechanical properties, lightweight and high manufacturability, and are therefore interesting for high-volume transport industries. This paper proposes, designs and successfully demonstrates a pathway to produce TBDCs with outstanding stiffness and tensile strength, by using ultra-thin tapes of (ultra-) high modulus carbon-fibres. Numerical models are used to explore the design space of discontinuous composite materials, in order to identify the optimal microstructural design to maximise stiffness and strength. Selected microstructures are manufactured and tested under tension; the experimental results show good agreement with the numerical predictions, and demonstrate a significant increase in the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of TBDCs by reducing the tow thickness and increasing the modulus of the fibres. Strength and stiffness increases of over 100% compared with the commercially available TBDC systems are achieved, resulting in mechanical properties that match the strength and overcome the stiffness of aerospace-graded continuous-fibre laminates.

常规的随机取向的基于丝束的断续复合材料（TBDC）是结合了良好的机械性能，轻质和高可制造性的材料，因此对于大批量运输行业是令人感兴趣的。本文提出，设计并成功演示了通过使用（超）高模量碳纤维超薄胶带生产出具有出色刚度和拉伸强度的TBDC的途径。数值模型用于探索不连续复合材料的设计空间，以便确定最佳的微观结构设计以最大程度地提高刚度和强度。选定的微结构在张力下制造和测试；实验结果与数值预测吻合良好，并且通过减小丝束厚度和增加纤维的模量证明了TBDC的抗张强度和杨氏模量的显着增加。与市售的TBDC系统相比，强度和刚度增加了100％以上，从而产生了与强度匹配的机械性能，并克服了航空级渐变连续纤维层压材料的刚度。