US Patent 10099445 Systems and methods for forming composite materials

A composite membrane assembly may include a plurality of stacked composite plies. Each composite ply may include a main body of reinforced fibers connected together with a resin. The main body may include a base connected to an opposed boundary surface through opposed ends and opposed sides. At least one non-orthogonal cut is formed through a thickness of the main body from the base to the boundary surface. The non-orthogonal cut(s) is staggered with respect to at least one other non-orthogonal cut of an adjacent composite ply so that the non-orthogonal cut(s) does not form a contiguous linear cut with the other non-orthogonal cut(s) of the adjacent composite ply.