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Carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer is a composite material in which carbon fibres reinforce a polymer composite matrix. The fibres carry axial tension efficiently, while the composite matrix maintains their arrangement and transfers load through interfacial shear stress. A component's response therefore depends on fibre direction, fibre volume fraction and bonding as well as the constituent properties.

For continuous aligned reinforcement, the longitudinal rule of mixtures predicts the initial axial Young's modulus. A stack with fibres in several directions trades some axial performance for reinforcement in those directions. Such an arrangement can reduce in-plane anisotropy, but does not automatically make the through-thickness response identical. Comparing tensile testing along the fibres, across them and through the assembled layers reveals different possible failure mechanisms, including fibre fracture and loss of fibre-matrix load transfer.

The fibre volume fraction is the fraction of a composite material's total volume occupied by reinforcing fibres:For a specimen with only fibres and a composite matrix, their fractions sum to one. Voids require a third fraction; they must not be silently counted as composite matrix. The fibre volume fraction is different from the fibre mass fraction because the constituents can have different mass densities.

For a void-free material, a measured fibre mass fraction $w_f$ giveswhere ${\rho }_f$ and ${\rho }_m$ are the constituent mass densities. For example, masses in the ratio $3:2$ and mass densities in the ratio $3:1$ give $V_f=1/3$, not $3/5$. Inserting $V_f$ into the longitudinal rule of mixtures estimates axial Young's modulus; orientation and fibre-matrix load transfer remain separate requirements.

A glass fibre is a thin strand of glass used as a reinforcement. When embedded in a composite matrix, many glass fibres can carry axial tension while the surrounding material maintains their positions and transfers load between them. The reinforcement is effective only if the interface transmits the required shear stress; an unbonded fibre can slide without carrying the expected load.

Continuous aligned glass fibres reinforce one direction strongly, whereas short fibres with varied orientations distribute reinforcement over more directions.^[ref] Even if the glass itself is approximately isotropic, a composite material containing aligned glass fibres is generally anisotropic. Comparing specimens with equal fibre volume fraction but different orientations separates the effects of constituent quantity and arrangement.