Methods for manufacturing fiber-modified interlayers for composite structures

A composite manufacturing method comprising:

• advancing only a nonwoven fabric, formed of continuous fibers, into a volume of a slurry, formed of discontinuous fibers suspended in a dispersive liquid;
• submerging only said nonwoven fabric in said slurry such that a first surface and a second surface, opposite said first surface, of said nonwoven fabric are completely covered by said slurry;
• while submerging in said slurry, drawing only said nonwoven fabric through said slurry;
• while submerging and drawing, filtering said discontinuous fibers through only said nonwoven fabric;
• while submerging, drawing, and filtering, in a single pass through said slurry, yielding a fiber-modified interlayer comprising a first network of said discontinuous fibers attached to said first surface of said nonwoven fabric and a second network of said discontinuous fibers attached to said second surface, opposite said first network of said discontinuous fibers;
• and
• withdrawing said fiber-modified interlayer from said slurry.