Geometry effect on mechanical properties of woven fabric composites

Abstract

The effects of geometry on mechanical properties in woven fabric composites were explored. Two types of composites, including one-layered and two-layered composites, were designed and studied. For one-layered composites, inter-strand gap effects on the mechanical properties were studied, while three cases of geometries with inter-strand gaps in two-layered composites were evaluated. A woven fiber micromechanics analytical model called MESOTEX was employed for theoretical simulation. The predicted results show that the inter-strand gap and simple variation of the strand positions in a repeating unit cell significantly affect the mechanical properties of woven fabric composites.