I have been looking to find some reading material on why certain fabric weaves are used in certain applications, like why use a 2x2 vs a 4x4, why use certain sizes of spread tow in some applications, etc. 

Is there anywhere that I can start to get more info on material selection and the advantages/ disadvantages in situations?

Thanks!

Honestly it is all about optics in most cases. You may not use plain weaves in very curvy parts, but it is possible of you want to. Making parts that only have to resist bending forces in one direction, you may use only unidirectional cloth for a slight weight advantage, but in this cases construction techniques are far more important than weave selection. Spread tows can be used in hyper light weight sandwich constructions like RC planes, where you try to create the thinnest skin layer possible. That's because you can get very thin spread tow weaves, like 60g/sm. But in 99% of all cases the look decides what type of cloth is used. At least as skin layer.

Yeh, pretty much this ^

There's also some technical advantages of say a 4x4 twill vs a 2x2 twill in that the 4x4 will have less crimp, theoretically giving you a stronger laminate. Same is true of a 5HS or 8HS satin weaves vs twill/plain weaves. Real world, if that's the sort of detail you are paying attention to, then you are likely also using lasers for fibre orientation and other such high-tech methods to ensure absolute optimum performance. At the hobby level, it's not something you really need to concern yourself with.

Agree with both the comments above.

Worth baring in mind for most common hobbyist/diy applications is that the looser the weave, the easier it is to drape, so a good general rule of thumb is that a twill version of a plain weave at a set weight will drape fractionally easier, same with some satin/harness weaves in certain directions. UD's and Biaxials can be flatter, but their use depends on your application.  UD is not great for infusion due to no gaps, biaxial will mostly infuse but a bit slower than typical woven cloths. Spread tows are great for being flat, but as they are in effect wide strips of UD woven, sometimes with infusion you can get areas of voids, but this can be sorted by modifying your process.

I am sure there are plenty other rules of thumb people use.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant

Thanks for the replies! It seems like this video was almost made for this question! Thanks easy composites!

https://youtu.be/4GddDvAD3pY

Glad you like it, we had been filming it recently but my lips were sealed in terms of release date.   The distortion of the fabric over the metal dome is far better a visual representation of drapability than I could ever describe in words.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant