Among the continuous fiber-reinforced C/C composites, filament wound structures are perhaps the least common. Filament winding was investigated as a means of overcoming a weakness of noninterwoven pattern ply laminates, namely, their tendency to delaminate when subjected to shear loads in thermal environments. The use of helical winding patterns at intervals along the structure provides a degree of interlocking of the continuous fibers. Filament winding of relatively thin wall bodies of revolution is economical and is commonly done for the manufacture of other types of C/C composites. Alternative approaches, such as tape wrapping, involute construction, or weaving 3D preforms, have been preferred to filament winding for overcoming delamination problems in CC composites.
One current application of filament wound CC composite is for hot-pressing molds. The filament winding of continuous yarn into a right circular cylindrical pattern imparts high hoop tensile strength to the composite. Filament wound hot-pressing molds are manufactured under the trademark of CFCCARBON. These filament wound molds have tensile strengths 5-10 times those of monolithic graphite, are resistant to thermal shock, and exhibit a long lifetime compared to bulk graphite molds.
Filament winding of unidirectional tape also has been used to apply circumferential reinforcement to 3D cylindrical CC structures and is discussed later in other articles.