Stiffness and failure modelling of 2D and 3D textile-reinforced composites by means of imbricate-type elements approaches

This paper discusses the stiffness and failure behaviour modelling of textile-reinforced composites (TRCs). Different numerical and semianalytical approaches, based on a multilevel geometrical meshing which allows considering mechanical phenomena encountered at the filament, the yarn and the unit cell levels, are developed. The cases of a 2D woven and a 3D braided composites are studied and their homogenised stiffness properties are compared to solutions provided by finite element methods and the fabric geometry model. The modelled failure of both the 2D and 3D TRC are compared to experimental data.