Modelling the Geometrical Characteristics of Fabric Reinforced Composites

Abstract

Some micro-mechanical models are in use today to accurately describe the shape of textile reinforced composite materials. Physically, the textile reinforced composites modelling is more demanding than those of traditional composite (unidirectional) materials, given the fact that their geometric architecture of wire connections is quite sophisticated. Refined and accurate models are required to analyse these complicated structures. The numerical modelling techniques can be broken down into three main categories: classical laminate theory (CLT), stiffness averaging method (SAM) and finite element method (FEM). Of all the methods, finite element method (FEM) is the most promising because it allows analysis of nonlinear systems with general boundary conditions and can be adapted to complex geometries. Each model is based on micro-mechanical analysis, because all mechanical properties are affected by microscopic variables (geometric lengths, areas and volumes) and their properties. This paper is an attempt to find an efficient method of modelling the geometry, by analytical/numerical means, in order to save time and costs associated with the analysis of these composites. The method used here is a compromise between the continuous and pure discrete approaches and is associated with a mesoscopic analysis of the repetitive unit cell (UC).