Woven fabric composites - developments in engineering bounds, homogenization and applications

Various approaches for approximating upper and lower bounds for the elastic sti ness tensor for general woven fabric composites are rst described. Well accepted minimum energy principles are brie y presented to establish the foundation for practical nite element procedures for determining these bounds. Secondly, comparisons of four common homogenization procedures are shown: the strain energy balance method, the plate approximation method, a direct approach via area averaging, and asymptotic expansion homogenization. As a limiting case, all of the methods obtain the well-known Rule of Mixtures for a unidirectional uniaxial specimen. In attempting to consolidate much of the existing knowledge of structural constitutive models for woven fabric composites, this research seeks to summarize and compare various homogenization methods via nite element analyses. Finally, some illustrative applications are presented.