Performance study of braided carbon/PEEK composite compression bone plates

In addition to unidirectional laminates and short fiber reinforcements for compression bone plate developments in the literature, we have proposed using a textile structure, i.e. braid preform, for this purpose. In the present paper, the influence of braiding angles and plate thicknesses on the bending performance of the braided composite bone plates is investigated. As a result, the influence of the braiding angle, varied in a certain range, on the plate bending properties is not significant when the plate thickness is thin. This influence becomes higher with an increase in the plate thickness. A 10degrees braiding angle has been seen to be appropriate for all the cases under consideration. The present study indicates that the braided composite plate with 2.6 turn thickness can be suitable for forearm treatment whereas the braided composite plate of 3.2 mm thickness is applicable to femur or tibia fixation. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.