Finite element damage modeling of plain weave fabrics

Plain weave fabrics are used as reinforcements in composites in order to obtain improved inter-laminar properties. But these advantages are at the cost of reduced stiffness and strength in the in-plane directions. Therefore, it is important to study the mechanical behavior of such composites. In this work, the geometrical model needed for finite element discretization of the plain weave fabrics are developed for three configurations---single lamina, iso-phase, and out-of-phase. Next, a procedure to determine the longitudinal elastic modulus under tensile loading is presented. Then, a meso level damage model is used for predicting the inelastic tensile behavior of the fabrics. The damage model is validated for the tensile response of T300/5208 laminate for four configurations, [10/-10]2s, [0/45/-45/90] s, [30/-30]2s and [45/-45]2s. Then, the damage behavior of plain weave fabrics is analyzed using finite element methods. Also, the modes of meso level damage are also identified from the analysis. Comparisons with experimental data are provided in order to support validity of the proposed models