Abstract :
This paper proposes a methodology for the structural analysis of braided composites based on the use of standard finite element codes. This approach uses the geometrical description at a micro-structural level and can be applied when the size of the analyzable model is adequate to describe the global behavior of fabric. Against this limitation, which excludes only those fabrics with a high configuration complexity, this approach allows detailed information on stress and deformation to be obtained with the possibility of foreseeing in which areas structural damage will start. The fabric analyzed is a triaxial material applied in the aerospace industry. The application of the method of analysis, within the boundaries of a linear analysis, allowed its structural behavior to be characterized, but it also allowed the role played by fabric components and braiding effect of yarns in quantitative terms to be established. Finally, considering that the fabric geometrical model was created according to the graphic information collected from investigations carried out by means of an electronic microscope, it was believed that it was useful to evaluate the importance of the description accuracy by an analysis of the sensitivity to the variation of some choice parameters in the model creation procedure.
