METHOD FOR MAKING COMPLEX INTEGRAL STRUCTURAL MEMBERS FROM A COMPOSITE MATERIAL
A fibrous preform is made using only a flexible basic fibrous structure in the form of a planar plate consisting of a stack of two-dimensional fibrous layers joined together by needle punching. Cut-outs and/or slots are made in the basic fibrous structure and the preform is made by bending the cut and/or slotted basic fibrous structure. A structural member is provided by densifying the preform with a constituent material of the composite material matrix. A single plate with a fibrous structure bent into shape by means of the slots or cut-outs may be used to achieve the desired preform in which the continuity of the basic fibrous structure is retained. Alternatively, a plurality of plates with a basic fibrous structure may be assembled by bending one or more of the plates and assembling them so that they interlock by means of the slots or cut-outs.