Generating Woven Textile Models with Induced Fiber Entanglement for Controlling Composite Thickness

Abstract

Generating realistic tow geometries is important for making effective models for textile composite materials. The geometry of the tows is controlled by the compaction response of the textile during manufacturing. Attaining a realistic compaction response from a textile model has been difficult due to the representation of fibers as unentangled. These tows containing idealized, parallel fibers without fiber entanglement or meandering compact with less resistance than tows with the entanglement found in manufactured textile composites. In this study, a method of introducing entanglement to the tows within a textile was created which selectively swapped fiber positions at different cross sections along the length of the tow. This method introduces entanglement and meandering into a textile while ensuring the fibers do not cross into the bounds of the surrounding tows. The entanglement was controlled by varying the frequency (probability of swapping) and distance (swapping radius standard deviation) of fiber path pairs being swapped within each tow at cross sections separated by the swapping plane spacing along the length of the tow. When applied to a plain weave textile, it was found that the greater the entanglement, the greater the compaction pressure vs composite thickness of the plain weave textile. While examining the ability for entanglement to control the compaction response of the textile, it was found that the compaction pressure-composite thickness response of a manufactured specimen was able to be replicated.