The current literature on three-dimensional (3D) needle-punched composites tends to address the aspects of preforms fabrication and composites characterization respectively. This paper aims to bring together these two aspects to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the subject of 3D needle-punched reinforcements for composites. Consequently, this paper contains a detailed outline of the current state of 3D needle-punched technology for manufacturing advanced composite preforms. Properties of 3D needle-punched composites and some of the predictive models available for determining these properties are also reviewed. To conclude, a number of current and potential applications of 3D needle-punched preforms for engineering composites are highlighted, and issues impeding the use of 3D needle-punched composites are also summarized.

•A designing scaffold strategy to imitate the mineralized collagen bundles in natural bone was presented.•Aligned nanostructured composite fibers were fabricated by coaxial electrospinning using green water solvent.•Mechanical properties of aligned TSF nanofiber had been significantly improved by embedding with composite nanoparticles.•Composite scaffolds effectively supported proliferation of MG-63 cells and promoted biomineralization.The bone is a composite of inorganic and organic materials and possesses a complex hierarchical architecture consisting of mineralized fibrils formed by collagen molecules and coated with oriented hydroxyapatite. To regenerate bone tissue, it is necessary to provide a scaffold that mimics the architecture of the extracellular matrix in native bone. Here, we describe one such scaffold, a nanostructured composite with a core made of a composite of hydroxyapatite and tussah silk fibroin. The core is encased in a shell of tussah silk fibroin. The composite fibers were fabricated by coaxial electrospinning using green water solvent and were characterized using different techniques. In comparison to nanofibers of pure tussah silk, composite notably improved mechanical properties, with 90-fold and 2-fold higher initial modulus and breaking stress, respectively, obtained. Osteoblast-like MG-63 cells were cultivated on the composite to assess its suitability as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering. We found that the fiber scaffold supported cell adhesion and proliferation and functionally promoted alkaline phosphatase and mineral deposition relevant for biomineralization. In addition, the composite were more biocompatible than pure tussah silk fibroin or cover slip. Thus, the nanostructured composite has excellent biomimetic and mechanical properties and is a potential biocompatible scaffold for bone tissue engineering.

New three dimensional (3D) braided single poly (lactic acid) composites (PLA–SPCs) were obtained by combining 3D and five (5)-direction braiding technique and hot-compression technical process. 3D and 5-direction braided preforms with different braiding angles, thicknesses and fiber volume fractions were prepared. Preforms were preheated in the specially designed die system in order to make all of the fibers partially melted. In the next stage, the preforms were consolidated under a certain pressure (from 7.8 to 10 MPa) at temperatures ranging from 130 up to 150 °C. Under the controlled processing conditions, one part of fiber body formed matrix while the other part retained its fibrous form.At the same consolidation temperature, the maximum bending stress values resulted to be substantially dependent on the fiber volume fraction of PLA–SPCs, while the bending modulus values were largely subjected to the fiber content in the length direction. The increases of consolidation pressure gave rise to better fusion of neighboring fibers with the result that the maximum stress and modulus were increased. As the consolidation temperature increases, the fusion bonding was improved, the bending failure feature was converted from plastic to brittle, both maximum bending stress and modulus values were increased. It is expected that this study could provide a new approach for the manufacture of high-performance single polymer composites (SPCs) by using thermoplastic polymer fibers.