Isotropic stiffness and strength can be
achieved by using a planar random assembly
of fibres but its low packing efficiency means
that high fibre volume fractions, required for
large loads, cannot be obtained.

The solution to this is to stack and
bond together plies with different
fibre orientations to form a laminate

Try adding another ply to this animation
and notice the differences in the axial
and tranverse deformations.

Original size