The present invention relates to the fabrication of thick, three-dimensional preforms comprising fibers disposed as chords of a circle, and to composites comprising such structures embedded in a matrix material such as a thermoset resin, ceramic, metal or carbon. The fibrous preform structure composed of fiber disposed as chords of a circle produces a range of composite structures from isotropic orientation at the lamina level to balanced, symmetric lamina to best satisfy end use requirements. Carbon-carbon fiber composite articles produced from these chordal preforms are obtained by carbonizing such structures followed by infiltration with pyrolytic carbon using CVD processes exhibit attractive properties for high energy friction applications.