Direct Numerical Simulation of 3D Woven Textile Composites Subjected to Compressive Loading: A Multiscale Approach

Abstract

Results for the compressive response of hybrid 3D woven textile composites (H3DWTCs) that consist of carbon, glass and kevlar fiber tows and a polymer matrix material are presented, using a combination of experiments and a multi-scale analysis of the full laboratory scale coupon for a class of H3DWTCs. The coupon model considers macro, meso and micro scale based modeling, where the notched gage area is explicitly modeled with fiber tows embedded in the matrix and the grip areas are homogenized at the macro scale. The meso scale fiber tows are considered homogenized entities of fibers and matrix, and are related to the constituents through an analytical micromechanics model. The experimental results suggest that carbon fiber compressive strength dictates the initiation of kink banding failure in carbon tows, while glass fiber tow compressive strength dictates the maximum load attainable. These experimental observations are seen to be captured by the 3-scale modeling strategy developed here and hence, seems to be a computationally efficient tool for the progressive damage and failure analysis of textile composites.