The designable elastic modulus of 3-D fabric reinforced biocomposites

Abstract The three-dimensional (3-D) carbon fiber fabric is used to reinforce a hydroxyapatite (HA)/epoxy biocomposite. The elastic modulus calculation of the 3-D fabric reinforced composite by the stiffness average method and the finite element method shows that the elastic modulus of the composite is designable, and can be adjusted to the range of a human cortical bone (7–30 GPa) by varying the micro-structural parameters of the woven fabric to fulfill the nonisotropic requirement of the composite implants. The calculated elastic modulus is comparable with the flexural modulus of the 3-D fabric reinforced composites prepared by resin transfer molding. The incorporation of HA has decreased the flexural modulus of the composites for the weakened fiber–matrix interface, but the flexural modulus (22–36 GPa) is still close to that of the human cortical bone, which favors the avoidance of ‘stress shielding’ and the sequent bone absorption caused by implant materials with a high elastic modulus.