Overview
ISO 2113:2023 - Reinforcement fibres - Woven fabrics - Requirements and specifications - is the international standard that defines the characteristics, test methods and specification elements for woven fabrics used as reinforcements in polymer composites. It covers fabrics woven from yarns (single, plied, cabled, rovings) made from textile glass, carbon or aramid and is intended to support procurement, quality assurance and conformity assessment for reinforcement fabrics generally used for plastics reinforcements.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Fabric description and designation
- Specification of warp and weft yarn types and linear densities (tex or filament counts for carbon).
- Definition of weave type, weave ratio and yarn counts per centimetre (construction).
- Mass per unit area (ISO 3374) and thickness (ISO 4603) as key physical descriptors.
- Tolerances
- Mass per unit area: measured value expected within ±5% of specified value (unless otherwise agreed).
- Thickness: measured value expected within ±15% of specified value (unless otherwise agreed).
- Mechanical and functional properties
- Tensile breaking force and elongation by strip method (ISO 4606) in warp and weft.
- Conventional flexural stiffness and other mechanical measurements where required.
- Surface treatment and sizing
- Types of surface treatments (textile/plastic size, cleaned/finished, oxidized, corona-treated, etc.).
- Amount of size/finish determined (ISO 1887 for glass, ISO 10548 for carbon) and reported as percentage by mass.
- Identification and handling
- Tracer yarn specification (type, linear density, spacing) for alignment or identification.
- Sampling (ISO 2859-1, ISO 3951-1), conditioning (ISO 291), packaging, storage and test specimen preparation requirements.
- Defect classification
- Guidance on visual defects: warp, weft, surface-treatment and other defect types and inspection across roll length.
Applications and who uses this standard
ISO 2113:2023 is used by:
- Composite materials engineers and designers specifying reinforcement fabrics for aerospace, automotive, marine, wind-energy, sporting goods and industrial components.
- Fabric manufacturers and converters to create verifiable product specifications and catalog entries.
- Quality assurance, test laboratories and procurement teams for lot acceptance, inspection and contractual compliance.
- OEMs and spec writers requiring consistent physical, mechanical and surface-treatment criteria for composite production.
Related standards
Key referenced standards include ISO 3374, ISO 4602, ISO 4603, ISO 4606, ISO 1887, ISO 10548, ISO 2078, ISO 2797, ISO 3598, ISO 5025, ISO 291, ISO 2859-1 and ISO 3951-1 - used for specific test methods, conditioning and sampling procedures.
For suppliers and specifiers seeking robust, interoperable reinforcement-fabric requirements, ISO 2113:2023 provides a practical framework to ensure consistent material performance and traceability.