Manufacturing process of a nanofibrous membrane reinforced composite material and nanofibrous membrane for such a process

A method of manufacturing a composite reinforced material, comprising the steps of

• arranging a plurality of layers of reinforcing fibres,
• impregnating said layers with a resin-based matrix,
• placing between said layers of reinforcing fibres an intermediate layer of polymer nanofibers,
• laminating said layers of reinforcing fibres by addition of pressure and/or heat,
• wherein
• said intermediate layer of polymer nanofibers is interleaved between said layers of reinforcing fibres by laying a membrane of polymer nanofibers adhering to a backing substrate on a first layer of reinforcing fibres before laying a second layer of reinforcing fibres and said lamination step,
• said second layer of composite material being laminated above the first layer equipped with a polymer membrane once the backing substrate has been removed, the polymer membrane being intimately incorporated between the first and second layers also with the aid of the lamination pressure,
• said membrane of polymer nanofibers being obtained by direct electrospinning on said backing substrate by a needleless technique, and wherein
• an anti-sinking feature is provided before said lamination step, to ensure that said polymer nanofiber membrane layer does not sink in the impregnated first layer but remains on the surface of resin-based matrix material, at the interface with the other impregnated second layer with which it is to be laminated.